


Stuffed Animal

by adrimars



Series: Love According to The Book of Keroberos [1]
Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, F/M, Romantic Comedy, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-03 09:24:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 61,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6605458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrimars/pseuds/adrimars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>17-year-old Sakura Kinomoto has been waiting for seven years for her childhood sweetheart, Syaoran Li, to return before her father finds her a suitor to marry in the near future. To keep his memory strong, she relies on a stuffed animal he gave her, and held on to her that as long as she has it, he will return to her. Seven years later, news spread of a movie cast and crew arriving in town, including Japan's hottest teen idol of today, Li Xiaolang, to shoot a teen romance movie called "Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf." Upon arrival in Tomoeda, an accident meeting with the troubled and lonely emerald-eyed Sakura, and meeting her friends and other locals, Li Xiaolang begins to gain clues that he had lived in this secluded town for most of his forgotten young life, especially a possible close relationship with Sakura. While Sakura has her green stuffed animal to hold on to, Xiaolang only has a pink stuffed animal as a clue to lead him to his real home, and to the one whom he gave his heart a long time ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PROLOGUE: The Book of Keroberos Excerpt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tomoeda, a small secluded town surrounded by redwood forests, wild orchards, indigenous wildlife, and a long coast of beach, is located in the northeast area of Honshu Island, Japan. Although a town located practically in the middle of nowhere, the people have many centuries of strange yet delightful traditions and quirks that make Tomoeda stand out throughout all the small towns and villages situated throughout Miyagi Prefecture. Tomoeda's traditions and quirks, especially when it comes to falling in love, are all listed in the legendary Book of Keroberos, the definite treasure of Tomoeda. The book also tells tales of true love, which made its residents believe that these tales are based on real-life events, and thus, they practice (almost) everything dictated in the mighty book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Card Captor Sakura © CLAMP/Kodansha. The only thing I own here is this fanfic's plot and whatever original characters I may create here.

_Once upon a time in this here town named Tomoeda_  
_There was a little boy and a little girl, filled with so much love_  
_Their love for themselves, their love for one another, their love for their home_  
_Ever since infancy, the whole town knew_  
_That someday,_ sometime _, and in some way_  
_This here little boy and this here little girl_  
_Will marry one day, and to live together for eternity_  
_This boy and girl, so inseparable, filled with friendship and true love_  
_Some say, "Oh, they're just the best of friends!"_

 _Others say, “They don’t know what they’re doing because they’re so young.”_  
_But only this boy and this girl knew what the words "true love" meant._  
  
_Then one fateful day in their tenth year of togetherness,_  
_The mother and father of the little boy have found luck and wealth,_  
_To the city, they decided, they should settle for life_  
_Along with their daughters and their only son_  
_To the city, they said, they shall continue to live._  
_Their children learned of this wonderful news_  
_But as for the little boy, this news not so wonderful at all._  
  
_This boy spread the word to the girl he loved so much_  
_And tears and woes, the girl expressed_  
_Knowing they may truly never meant to be_  
_The boy and the girl, both sighed filled with woe_  
_As the days pass by until the fateful day comes,_  
_This boy and this girl, themselves, they have planned_  
_There is only one way, they said, for them to be one again_  
_Along with their hands and their creative minds_  
_They knitted and sewn and stuffed--- oh, how adorably sweet!_  
  
_That fateful day has finally arrived and it was all cheers and woes_  
_The boy and the girl, amber and emerald, they gazed_  
_Along with a final, simple, yet sweet special kiss_  
_Two little teddy bears--- brown and blush --- they exchanged_  
_The boy said to the girl, "My love, please don't cry,_  
_For someday, somewhere, somehow, I shall return for you..."_  
_And alas, dear friend, melancholy has come_  
_For the boy and his family sailed away_  
_This little town of Tomoeda has never been the same_  
_Especially for this little girl, now all alone and in sorrow_  
  
_But don't_ fret, _my friends, there is no end to true love_  
_For this little girl has something to remember the boy by_  
_This little cute teddy bear that her love_ have _given her_  
_Legend has it that love will last in a special STUFFED ANIMAL_  
_The story goes like this, "When two lovers filled with love for each other_  
Were _to part in such a sorrowful way_  
_These two lovers exchange these STUFFED ANIMALS of Tomoeda,_  
_Signifies that someday, somewhere, and somehow, they shall be together_  
_For always, forever, for eternity, for life."_  
_This little girl has true faith in this sweet little teddy bear_  
_She named it, "_ Chiirou _," which means "little wolf"_  
_Her love, she said, has a character of a wolf_  
_But in spite of all that, she loved him so_  
_Therefore, this is the only thing that she will do for the rest of her life_  
_She will wait patiently here in this town of Tomoeda_  
_Until her "_ Chiirou _" will finally come home._  
  
_Seven years passed and still no sign of the "little wolf,"_  
_Hounds of these suitors have been pining for her fairness_  
_But even so, in spite of these hounds,_  
_This little girl, now as a beautiful and fair young woman_  
_Still waits, hopes, and prays for that one sweet day_  
_That one sweet day where her "_ Chiirou _" will come_  
_And sweep her away..._  
_Forever, and ever, and for eternity._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We start off with a little ditty from the legendary Book of Keroberos, the official authority of written documents that illustrates Tomoeda's traditions and quirks. Many often say that the Book of Keroberos has some special hidden magic that would make everyone crossing the town to fall in love with life itself. As the saying goes, once you arrive in Tomoeda, you can never leave.


	2. Brotherly Brawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The good archeologist and university professor of Tomoeda, Fujitaka Kinomoto, made one small mistake in setting up his only daughter Sakura with a local suitor that ended in failure. The said suitor drove his older son, 24-year-old Touya Kinomoto, into a public rampage scene like there was no tomorrow. His fiancee, 26-year-old Kaho Mizuki, his best friend and next-door neighbor, 24-year-old Yukito Tsukishiro, and Yukito's fiancee, Nakuru Akizuki, review and analyze the Kinomotos' situation with Sakura, and refer their beliefs and thoughts of love and romance according to the Book of Keroberos. Meanwhile, Sakura is on babysitter duty when she finds herself daydreaming about her long-lost childhood love, Syaoran Li, whom she had been waiting for his return for seven years. Then, she receives a call from her best friend, Tomoeda's "princess" Tomoyo Daidouji, who was asked by a favor of their idol fanclub friends, Chiharu Mihara and Rika Sasaki, to have their band perform for them for a very huge announcement: Popular teen idols, cousins Li Xiaolang of Hong Kong and Eriol Hiiragizawa of England, along with other notable fellow idols, will be arriving in Tomoeda to shoot a brand-new movie, "Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Card Captor Sakura © CLAMP/Kodansha. The only thing I own here is this fanfic's plot and whatever original characters I may create here.

The next-door neighbor spotted Professor Fujitaka Kinomoto, Doctor of Archaeology, at the front porch area of his home, typing his words away on his laptop while soaking in the beautiful Sunday morning sun. These were the words of the upcoming university thesis that he had been working on for a year now as his final required assignment to submit for his second doctorate in the field of Anthropology. Though summer vacation just started, the university still had the summer quarter and it was his turn to be a doctorate student full-time. No more teaching and lecturing undergraduate students for this quarter. That can wait until the fall.

Soun Tsukishiro, a retired former university professor in his own right and currently a restaurant owner and manager of the famous Mooncastle Diner, passed by the front and waved at the younger teacher. Fujitaka took notice and waved at him in return. “Mr. Tsukishiro, good morning!”

“And a good morning to you too, Fuji-kun,” Soun Kan gave his signature grin. “This Sunday is just way too beautiful for anyone to stay cooped up inside. I see you decided to take advantage of the summer sun by working on your thesis, eh?”

Fujitaka closed his laptop and headed towards the fence. “Yeah. I’m almost finished with my thesis. I’m writing my analysis report on the nature of the Qin Emperor’s tomb, most especially the theories behind the famous terracotta army sculptures. It’s not just scholarly research paper that I’m turning in, I’m also including a slideshow presentation of the Qin Emperor’s tomb photos from the China expedition trip I went to last year. It’s going to be amazing.”

Soun gave a nod. “Maybe before you do your presentation to the faculty, share your presentation with me first. I could give you some pointers, but then again, you’re so used to being a lecturer at the university that you may probably need any.”

The two academically-minded men broke into laughter until both found the time to stop. Soun then changed the subject with a soft cough. “So, any progress regarding your daughter?”

Fujitaka was silent at first, but then promptly answered. “I’m not sure, actually. Last night, the Sakamotos arranged to have their son, Takuya, to take my daughter out on a date.” He then sighed in relief. “I really don’t like much of our town’s traditions, but I really have no choice but to save face for my family name.”

“I know how it feels like, being a father to two daughters myself. Once our daughters turn fifteen, it was time for them to gain some experience with boys, ne?”

“Sakura just turned seventeen not too long ago and up to now she still have not chosen a suitable boy for her. Every single boy I tried to arrange with her always end in failure. I would know that when my son starts hounding for them and… well… you already know…”

Soun patted the younger father on the shoulder. “Fuji-kun, Touya-kun is still playing the role of the big brother protector to Sakura-chan, you know, even if he’s already engaged to marry the lovely Kaho Mitsuki. My grandson Yukito isn’t that different from Touya-kun, except for the violent part. I was so overjoyed to learn that Yukito and the Akatsuki’s eldest daughter Nakuru found each other and eventually fell in love. I didn’t need to go through the hassle of finding a fellow townsfolk to set up their kids to go on dates with your own.”

Fujitaka sighed. “Touya was not a problem when it comes to love. Kaho Mitsuki was a former student of mine and joined my independent study group at home one day and that was when she and Touya met. Then the rest was history.”

“Not so easy for daughters, I guess.”

“You’re telling me. Sakura insisted she didn’t want to marry and didn’t want to go through Tomoeda’s custom of having the parents arranging dates for their daughters if they haven’t found one at age fifteen. As mentioned, Sakura is still seventeen and still not interested.” He placed his hand on his forehead. “I just hope her date with the Sakamoto boy would turn out well and start hitting things off for the two of them.”

“You’re still young to worry about those things, Fuji-kun.” Soun patted him on the shoulder once again. “I’m heading to the diner now. I need to prepare and then open up. Good luck in your thesis.”

“Thanks, Mr. Tsukishiro.”

Just as the elderly neighbor was about to make his way, a group of teenage girls dashed their way through the street and then spotted both of them. He immediately recognized them as 17-year-olds Chiharu Mihara and Rika Sasaki with panicking expressions on their faces.

“Doctor Kinomoto!” Chiharu called out the young professor’s name. “Thank goodness you’re home!”

Fujitaka simply grinned. “Well of course. It is Sunday, you know.”

“Doctor Kinomoto, no time to explain, you have to come to the town square really quick!” Rika quickly grabbed his hand, as Fujitaka hesitated at first.

“What’s the rush, girls? What’s happening?”

“It’s your son, Touya-senpai,” Chiharu cried in panic. “He’s brawling with Takuya Sakamoto!”

“What the— that unruly…” Without any more questions asked, Fujitaka exited the fence and ran his way towards Tomoeda Town Square. The two girls and even Soun Tsukushiro followed him from behind.

 

#

 

The two men and the two teenage girls arrived at the town square after three minutes of running through the roads towards the main boulevard. When they got there, a huge crowd was already encircling the incident, with three other familiar figures standing at the front: Touya Kinomoto’s fiancee, Kaho Mizuki, his best friend and Soun’s grandson Yukito Tsukishiro, and his fiancee, Nakuru Akatsuki.

Touya and the younger Takuya Sakamoto had been exchanging fists at one another for the last three minutes. Rather than someone trying to break up the fight, the crowd only made things worse by provoking them to get into this brawl. For the past six months, Touya had earned the reputation and title of “The Suitor Killer of Tomoeda,” where he was known as the one to hunt down any particular young man who tried to do harm to his precious little sister Sakura. This was no thanks to all the arranged dates that his father had been involved with his fellow neighbors and townsfolk here and there. Last week, he beat up two boys that pretty much sent both of them to the hospital for the broken jaws and the broken ribs. The first boy he brawled with tried to spread nasty rumors about Sakura’s purity simply because she flatly rejected him to go out on a date at night while the other attempted to kiss her after a night out when Sakura clearly said no several times.

This case with Takuya Sakamoto may probably be similar to the rest of the boys he got into fights with at the town square. Sure, last night, this young man had a chance to take Sakura out on a dinner date. Unfortunately for Sakura, it turned out to be some kind of a humiliation fest when the boy’s buddies and even some girls made fun of her because the ungrateful jerk revealed her personal secret about her high beliefs of the town’s legendary stuffed animals. Even if the town’s traditions are still alive and well, most kids nowadays just don’t dig the whole stuffed animal myth. They called her a baby, a foolish dreamer, and a hopeless geek. Sticks and stones may not break her bones, but words shouldn’t hurt Sakura. Because of this major shocking turn of events in a supposedly quiet dinner between the two, that’s what really stabbed her within. She came back home early with tears in her eyes and eventually told Touya the entire story.

“Touya! Get back here this instant and leave that poor boy alone!” Kaho shouted right at his fiancee. “Will you ever stop being like a hungry wolf? You’re making another scene in front of the entire town here!”

Yukito also began shouting out: “Don’t let him get away, Touya! He doesn’t deserve to get away after what he did to your sister!”

“Stop encouraging him, Yukito, you’re not helping!” Nakuru frowned, glaring at her fiancee. “My god, the mayor’s gonna be pissed off again…”

“The only thing that would seriously stop Touya from getting in to fights like this is to get rid of that stupid tradition,” Yukito sighed. “I feel really bad for Sakura. I don’t understand why parents would go so far as to arranging their daughters to go on dates with random goons. This is probably the seventh time that Sakura is going through this entire mess.”

Just as the brawling becomes a whole lot more intense, Fujitaka crawled himself through the crowd until he finally got to the front. Quickly he stepped in the middle and with his two strong arms, drew the two brawlers away from each other.

“Alright, enough with the brawling!” Fujitaka shouted and turned to the two. “What on earth is going on here?”

Touya, struggling to release himself from his father’s grip, shouted right at the now heavily-bruised young man. “What the hell is wrong with a girl clinging into a stuffed toy, huh? You got a problem with that?”

Takuya, wiping off the dripping blood from his lip, simply gave a smirk. “I can’t believe that one of the town’s most eligible girls still thinks like a child! My parents must be drunk or something to actually agree to hook us up! Sorry, but I don’t date little girls who don’t have the courtesy to let gentlemen like me be allowed to hold her hand or even give her a kiss—-”

“Yeah? And what the hell is wrong with taking a girl out on a date without holding hands or even kiss, huh? Scum like you don’t deserve to even be with real girls like my sister! My sister would never lie to me, especially when she comes back home crying her eyes out, and you— you’re like the rest of them! I’ve warned you before last night— hurt my sister and your ass is mine!”

Fujitaka continued to restrain his hot-blooded son. “Touya, that’s enough! Calm down! You’re making a scene here! Do you want the mayor and the police to come here and then arrest you again for disturbing the peace?”

Kaho ran to the Kinomoto father and son and then faced her fiancee. “Touya, stop it, please. You’re gonna get yourself into trouble again if you don’t calm down…”

Touya sighed deeply, dropping his head and finally getting his composure back. Quickly, the young man Takuya Sakamoto stood up, turned around, and ran off away from the scene. The scenario was already over, and the rest of the crowd broke out and continue with their personal businesses.

 

#

 

Minutes later, they arrived back at the Kinomoto Residence. Fujitaka went ahead and provided First Aid for his son’s wounds as he, his fiancee, and his two friends sat on the sofa, watching over him.

“This has got to stop, Touya,” Fujitaka sighed, gently cleaning away his wounds with a ball of cotton. Touya gasped softly from the sting. “I don’t want our family to hold the record of having the highest number of arrests of the same person simply because of this unnecessary brawling.”

Touya gritted his teeth, holding his fist tightly. “Be a father for once, Dad. Be a father for Sakura. I know you’re really busy trying to get your doctorate thesis done but Sakura’s suffering from all these… traditions.”

“How many times have we gone through this, Touya? I also want Sakura to find a good man on her own, but it’s been two years since she became eligible for the traditional matchmaking and up to now she still hasn’t found the right one yet…”

“I still think this whole matchmaking and arranged marriage thing is stupid, Dad,” Touya rolled his eyes. “Although I admit that I really don’t want to see Sakura having a boyfriend at this age, I’ll have to accept that she really deserves to be happy when that time comes. I’ll just deal with it.”

Yukito patted his best friend on the shoulder. “Nothing’s really gonna change if she finds someone special, you know. I mean look at you and me. We now have Nakuru and Kaho and we’re still best friends, ne?”

“He’s right, Touya,” Kaho gave a nod. “And Sakura and I have been getting along so well for the last two years now. I can’t wait for us to become real sisters, you know?”

“I know, I know,” Touya said, then gave a sigh. “But still… it’s different when you have a sister… I mean obviously, it’s normal for me because eventually I’ll be the new head of the family when Dad’s time arrives, but… when that time comes, I’ll be the only one left to take care of Sakura.”

“And what happens when your time comes early, Son?” Fujitaka frowned as he began wrapping his son’s wounds with bandages. “Who will take care of Sakura then? That’s why it’s important for her to find a special someone now. There’s not very many of us Kinomotos left in Tomoeda, Touya, so that’s why we need to be prepared. That’s the only reason why we have this tradition and all of us must follow it.”

“All of that, Touya, only because Sakura still clings on to a stuffed toy? All of a sudden she’s so uncool now? That’s just pathetic,” Yukito frowned, shaking his head. “And on top of things, she had to get humiliated by it on their date night? That bastard deserved what he got earlier today.”

“Yukito, please!” Nakuru said with a frown. “What’s wrong with a teenager still clinging on to a stuffed animal, huh? I think it’s normal…”

“And one more thing, Touya,” Kaho said, “you can’t always play the guardian and protector for Sakura any long now. I’m willing to be Sakura’s protector too so we can also protect Sakura together, but beating the hell out of him isn’t the answer.”

Fujitaka finished patching up his song and then give a loud sigh, leaning himself against the cushion of the couch. “Why am I having such bad matchmaking skills… I really can’t tell people’s motives and personalities at all.”

“That’s because you’re so used to facing an entire lecture class in university, Dad,” Touya said. “You mostly interact with fellow professors and lecturers and students and all you talk about is archeology and anthropology and not very much social matters. If you want, I’ll find the right guy for Sakura even if it pisses me off—”

“Don’t even try, Touya,” Fujitaka glared. “Knowing you, you’re only going to give your sister a hard time.”

Nakuru softly cleared her throat. “One thing I noticed about Sakura though. Of course, I’m not trying to be nosy or anything like that.”

“What’s that, Nakuru?” Yukito asked.

“Well, I have a theory that maybe the reason why Sakura isn’t making herself progress on finding the right guy is because… well… I think there’s something that’s holding her back from doing so.”

“Oh? What are you talking about, Nakuru?” Kaho asked curiously.

“Well, you did mention about Sakura clinging on to a stuffed animal, right?”

“Yeah? So?” Touya became curious as well.

“Well, do you guys remember the old Tomoeda legend about the special stuffed animal?”

Yukito blinked in surprise. “Now that you mentioned it… Nakuru, are you saying that Sakura’s teddy bear may be what’s holding her back?”

His fiancee gave him a nod. “There’s no other explanation I could think of, you guys. Remember how the legend goes?”

“Yeah I do,” Yukito nodded. “How does it go again?”

There was silence among them for a bit. Then moments later, both Yukito and Nakuru spoke the same words simultaneously:

“ _When two lovers filled with love for each other_

_were to part in such a sorrowful way_

_These two lovers exchange these STUFFED ANIMALS of Tomoeda_

_Signifies that someday, somewhere, and somehow, they shall be together_

_For always, forever, for eternity, for life._ ”

Kaho gasped and placed her hand on her mouth. “Oh my… now I remember. That was mentioned in the Book of Keroberos, right?”

“That’s right,” Nakuru grinned. “What do you think, Touya?”

Fujitaka shrugged his shoulders. “Well, her teddy bear ‘Chiirou’ was given to her by a childhood friend when he moved away some ten or so years ago, but I thought that was just a part of their home economics project in school. She also gave that childhood friend her teddy bear as well. Ever since then I’ve always seen her bringing her Chiirou bear along with her even up to now in high school.”

Touya gave a soft chuckle. “Wait wait… so you’re saying that the only reason why Sakura isn’t making an effort to find herself a new man is because of some raggedy stuffed animal she’s been carrying around? What the hell is wrong with that girl…” He shook his head and slowly crossed his arms.

“Touya,” Kaho interrupted. “I think what Nakuru is saying isn’t just about the teddy bear itself. What she’s trying to say is that she’s saving herself, her mind, heart, body, and soul, to the one who gave her the Chiirou bear.” She turned to the professor. “Professor Kinomoto, we’re assuming that the one who gave Sakura that teddy bear was a boy, isn’t it?”

“That’s nonsense,” Touya rolled his eyes. “What on earth kind of boy would wanna like her that way at age ten, huh? That’s just dumb.”

“Obviously, there’s a lot of things you still don’t know about your sister, Touya,” Kaho rolled her eyes in return. “Now I know where Nakuru is trying to point at.”

Nakuru nodded. “I really think Sakura has high hopes and has high beliefs that the one who gave her that Chiirou bear will come back here to Tomoeda so they can be together. That’s why she hasn’t been giving the effort of finding herself a new man all this time.”

Fujitaka sighed, lowering his head. “Oh, Nadeshiko… being a father of a son and daughter at the same time is no easy feat. I’m on a roll with my thesis and all these sorts of problems just have to get in the way. What am I gonna do with her now…?”

Touya shook his head. “That doesn’t do any good. Sure, it’s a legend and not very many around Tomoeda is lucky enough to experience exchanging stuffed animals when one of them has to move away. Who on earth kind of a kid would easily fall in love with another kid at such a damn young age anyway?”

Yukito coughed softly. “Um, Touya, you just happen to be a good example. Didn’t you start having a crush on Kaho when you were only in fourth grade before?”

“Shut up, Yukito, that’s… that’s different!” Touya began his denial. “Besides, I didn’t move away. Kaho didn’t move away, so we didn’t have to do all that crazy stuffed animal business.”

“You oughta take some time to read the Book of Keroberos one of these days, Touya,” Kaho chuckled. “All of Tomoeda’s ancients old folktales and legends are all written in that book. Each Tomoeda family has at least one copy. Sakura isn’t exactly stupid, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…” Touya pouted.

“Hm, speaking of Sakura,” Yukito changed the subject. “Where is she right now?”

“Oh!” Fujitaka exclaimed. “She’s somewhere in the meadow forest, babysitting the neighbors’ kids right now. She’ll be back home soon.”

 

#

 

Sakura sat down underneath the huge cherry tree, reading a book while cradling her Chiirou stuffed bear against her chest. From time to time she continued to watch two children, a boy and a girl, she was asked to babysit playing tag with each other while looking at all the flowers they can see on the way on the grassy fields. After the rather shocking event, she had to go through with that pompous jerk Takuya Sakamoto, she needed to be alone for today. She did not want to see any trace of Takuya Sakamoto around town or anyone else who would be harassing her because of her devotion to the one who gave her the Chiirou stuffed animal. Taking over her bookworm friend Naoko Yanagisawa’s babysitting job to keep an eye on the children while she was away on a creative writing camp trip was the best way for her to get over the incident and then walk back home with her head up.

While she kept an eye on the two children, now swinging round and round with both their hands held together, she began to give a chuckle. She pushed her tousled chin-length mocha hair behind her ear just when the breeze was beginning to get a little chilly. With Chiirou bear sitting against her chest, she began reminiscing the old days.

The very spot that the two children were playing now happened to be the same spot where she first met Syaoran Li, the first boy, and most likely the only boy, who captured her heart. She was heading out on a hiking trip to the forest with her father and her brother at age six when she first spotted Syaoran and his father intensively training in martial arts. She already knew Syaoran as the boy living next door to her house and even back at elementary school but never really spoke to each other. With his fluid movements and his precise strikes, Sakura fell under his spell without being aware of things. Though Syaoran was always alone and never made that many friends with the exception of another boy named Takashi Yamazaki since he came into the picture, Sakura became the first female friend he ever made.

It was Sakura’s curiosity of his martial arts training that made Syaoran open his heart to her. Since then she would often come to that very same spot, not because she wanted to watch him and his father go through their usual martial arts routines, but simply because she just wanted to see the chocolate-haired, amber-eyed boy. During nighttime, the two would often talk to each other through their side windows and at times, Syaoran would use the sturdy branches of the cherry blossom tree standing in between their homes to climb over from his window to Sakura’s window, just so they can spend some time together in secret and vice versa. He vowed to be a champion in martial arts when he grew up and Sakura gave her promise to support him all the way. It wasn’t that long that both discovered that they were simply meant to be inseparable and before they knew it, they established a brand new level of their relationship.

Syaoran was everything to Sakura, always first at everything. He was her first partner in their couple bonfire dancing during sports days, her first boy partner in school projects, the first boy who ever held her hand, touched her hair and her cheek. Not to mention that he was the first boy to stand up against her against other unruly, immature boys and most of all, he was the one whom she shared her first kiss.

Oh how much she treasured that one special kiss, so much that she can’t afford to give her lips to any boy unless his name happened to be Syaoran Li. Her heart still beat for Syaoran even if he and his family no longer live in Tomoeda. A sad mystery simply came to her when all of her letters to him suddenly returned back to her by the post office, saying that there was no such person or no such address. She vowed to hire a private detective should she ever have enough money just to search for him. Even Takashi Yamazaki, now her next-door neighbor since Syaoran’s family moved out, even had bad luck in reaching out to his best friend.

While contemplating her past memories with her beloved Syaoran, the two children approached her with a homemade flower wreath on the boy’s hand. The flower wreath was that of white, red, and yellow peonies, which also gave Sakura another memory of Syaoran. Peonies just happened to be Syaoran’s favorite flower.

“For you, Sakura-san,” the boy said, placing the peony wreath over her head.

“Oh!” Sakura laughed and began helping the boy securely place the wreath around her head. “Thank you! You made this?”

The girl nodded. “Kyo-kun and me found so many flowers nearby and so we decided to make a wreath for you.”

“Aw, you guys… thank you so much!” Sakura grinned and embraced both the children tightly.

The children then released from her as the boy spoke to her. “You look really lonely, Sakura-san, so we thought that maybe we would cheer you up.”

“Aw, thanks so much. You didn’t need too. I’m fine, really.”

The girl blinked. “You know, the neighbors were saying that another boy hurt you again. Kyo-kun and I really like each other and are the best of friends. Why would boys want to hurt you, Sakura-san?”

“It’s not that,” Sakura said, patting the girl gently on her head. “It’s just that… I already have someone now.”

“Oh? Really? Who?” The boy asked.

“He… well.. He doesn’t live here in Tomoeda.”

“Oh.” The two kids frowned sadly. The teenage girl simply chuckled at their reactions.

“Come on now, you two, no reason for you to be sad for me, ne? Don’t give me that look. I want to see your smiles, come on.”

The two children flashed a smile and the three of them burst into laughter. At this point, their laughter was interrupted by a familiar angelic voice, calling out her name.

“Sakura!” She turned to see who was calling her and found a slender, long raven-haired, doll-faced young lady all of Tomoeda knew as the undisputed beauty queen. Seventeen-year-old Tomoyo Daidouji, the town’s teenage angel, the queen of fashion, heiress to the Sonomi Daidouji Couture, a world-known fashion design owned by her mother, and all-around best friend to all, appeared before her in one of her stylishly custom-designed dresses. Even though Sakura knew that there was no way she can compete against her long-time best friend and partner-in-crime, Tomoyo always made sure her shoulders are always available for Sakura to cry on whenever she has her troubles.

At this point, Sakura found the angelic Tomoyo waving right at her. She turned to the children. “Look, kids! Tomoyo’s here! Maybe she’ll treat us out to ice cream again like yesterday.”

“Yay!” The children quickly dashed to greet Tomoyo, as Sakura eventually caught up to them. Once she did, Tomoyo gasped in awe to see her best friend wearing a short-sleeved white lace dress that she specially designed for her last year.

“This is why you are my favorite model for all my designs, Sakura,” Tomoyo chuckled. “Even on bare feet and sitting on the thick roots of the cherry blossom tree, you still look so breathtakingly beautiful!”

Sakura chuckled nervously. “Thanks a lot, Tomoyo.”

“It’s almost time for the meeting, Sakura,” Tomoyo reminded her with a wink.

“Meeting?” Sakura slowly backed away. “Oh no, after what happened last night, I rather not…”

“No, silly, not about meeting some other random jerk now. We’re talking about the Club Wolfpups!”

“Club Wolfpups?” Sakura gently scratched her head. “What is… Club Wolfpups?”

Tomoyo giggled and locked her arm around hers. “Don’t you remember? The Club Wolfpups— the official fanclub of popular teen idol Li Xiaolang! Oh, and they’ll be having a joint meeting with the Club Moonies!”

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Club Moonies? Who are they?”

The four began walking back in town, with Tomoyo chuckling. “Earth to Sakura! Where have you been all this time? Everyone in school knows the tandem of Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa in a series of action movies for kids for some time now. The Li Xiaolang fans are called the Wolfpups and the Eriol Hiiragizawa fans are known as the Moonies.”

“Whoa. Strange names,” Sakura chuckled. “So, what are they got to do with us, Tomoyo?”

“Remember last week? I told you before, Sakura. We promised Chiharu and Rika that we’d go to the meeting since Chiharu’s the president of the Tomoeda Branch Wolfpups and Rika is the president of the Tomoeda Branch Moonies. This is really important, so we have to go.”

Just as they were nearing town, Sakura halted herself, which forced Tomoyo to stop as well. “W-wait a second, Tomoyo. Important? But you know as much as I do that we don’t even watch teen movies or even watch celebrity TV shows and… well, we don’t even watch TV!”

“I know, I know, but you know, Chiharu said—”

“And… well… I’m gonna end up falling asleep over there since I’m not really into—”

“This is the perfect opportunity for you to forget about last night’s incident, Sakura. That’s another reason why I want you to be there.”

Sakura knew that whenever Tomoyo Daidouji was around, there was no way she could ever escape from her. She turned to the two children. “Do you guys want to go to the Wolfpups and Moonies meeting?”

The boy exclaimed happily. “Wait. Did I just hear Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa? They’re like the coolest stars I’ve ever seen on TV and the movies! They’re like blood brothers who can fight evil and save the world all the time! I wanna be like them, especially Li Xiaolang! He makes all of his martial moves like it’s the real deal!”

“Um, I like Meiling Li,” the girl said. “She’s always Li Xiaolang’s partner in most of the movies. My big sister is a huge fan and she said that the next movie they’re gonna be having isn’t gonna be adventure anymore. It’s gonna be one of gross school romance movies. Aww…”

Sakura sighed and gave a slight grin. “Alright, kids. Let’s all go to the meeting then.”

“Yay!” The four proceeded to town until they reached the town square area. So far, nothing out of the ordinary was occurring since the brawl earlier this morning. It was a good thing that news about her brother getting into another fight with one of her suitors didn’t reach her earlier today and attending some idol fanclub’s meeting would definitely help her get her mind off of her humiliation.

Sakura then turned to her teddy bear, with its head sticking out from her shoulder bag. “Well, Chiirou, there’s always the first time for everything. I’m going to attend my very first fanclub meeting for Li Xialolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa. I don’t really know how they look like since I rarely watch TV or go to the movies but, well, guess we’ll know how they look like soon.”

“We’ll be having our meeting at Mooncastle Diner. Mr. Tsukishiro closed early to reserve the entire space for the fanclubs. Still, his waiters and cashiers and cooks still have to work though.”

Sakura sighed. “That means Oniichan will be there.”

“I heard that your brother took the day off. Um… he wasn’t feeling very well…” Tomoyo chuckled nervously.

“Oh? Not feeling well? What exactly do you mean?”

“Um… well, I just heard it from my mom. She and your dad met up at the library earlier today and… yeah.”

“Poor Oniichan. I hope he feels better.”

“Oh, after the meeting, I was wondering if you can come over my house tonight really quick.”

Sakura gazed right at her doll-faced friend’s dark purple eyes. “Oh?”

“I’ve written a couple of new songs that we can perform in the upcoming festivals, but I want to run them with you first since you’re our keyboardist and all!”

“Wow, sounds great! I’m looking forward to that!”

“Aaaand—” Tomoyo squealed with excitement. “I also wrote a song just for you!”

“Really? You wrote a song for me, Tomoyo? I can’t wait to hear it!”

The chirpy beauty grinned. “Now you have a chance to have your own solo song!”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “Wait… solo?”

“Yup! It’s a song that you will be singing solo one day!”

“Eeeehhh…” The chestnut-haired girl moaned. “You mean I’m singing that song?”

“But of course! I wrote a song for you to sing to the world!”

“But… But I can’t sing that well—”

Tomoyo simply placed her arm around her. “No complaints, Sakura. You and I sound good together whenever we do our duets. It’s your turn to have your own solo now!”

“But… Tomoyo…” And once again, when it came to Tomoyo, Sakura knew there was no escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although I'm doing the good ol' copying/pasting from FFnet to A3O, I'm also doing a lot of editing for past discrepancies. Because it's so detailed and organized here, once I finalize the edits, I'll repost the new edits to my old FFnet account. Please do enjoy! Once again, comments, suggestions, and feedback always welcome!


	3. Secret Trek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura falls in love with teen idol Li Xiaolang at first sight through borrowed teen magazines, not because of his looks and talent like most Wolfpup fangirls, but because of his features and personal stats (which includes his birthday and his likes and dislikes) have uncanny similarities to her long-lost love, Syaoran Li. In the meantime, the cast and crew of "Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf" are traveling on their way in a caravan. Two of the cast members, British teen idol Eriol Hiiragizawa and popular teen idol girl Meiling Li discuss two things that their leading idol Li Xiaolang brought with him to their destination: a mysterious pink winged teddy bear named "Ying Fa" and an old book known as THE BOOK OF KEROBEROS. When one of the drivers lost its coordination and the entire caravan became lost on the way, Li Xiaolang, unknowingly known in his former childhood life as Syaoran Li, Eriol, Meiling, and the movie's director, Yoshiyuki Terada, decide to travel to Tomoeda on foot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Card Captor Sakura © CLAMP/Kodansha. The only thing I own here is this fanfic's plot and whatever original characters I may create here.

The joint meeting of the two fanclubs already began when Sakura, Tomoyo, and the two kids arrived at Mooncastle Diner, the Tsukishiro Family’s business in Tomoeda’s main square. Lucky for the kids, the boy’s aunt happened to be on the scene and the two of them ran to her instead. This, of course, relieved Sakura off of her substitute babysitting duties. They found an empty table at the corner and decided to sit there.

The girls’ two friends, Chiharu Mihara and Rika Sasaki, were already behind the pedestal presiding the meeting. They just finished with the introductions of the officers from both fanclubs including themselves, the presidents of, respectively, The Li Xiaolang Wolfpups Fan Club and The Eriol Hiiragizawa Moonies Fan Club.

“We are all gathered in this meeting for a very special upcoming event,” Chiharu presided. “Rika and I had a meeting with the mayor and the city council yesterday afternoon regarding this important announcement that will take place here in Tomoeda.”

Rika then picked up from where Chiharu left from. “As you know from last night’s celebrity news, our favorite idols, Eriol Hiiragizawa and Li Xiaolang will be starring in the upcoming movie _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ , their very first non-action movie ever! Instead of portraying fierce powerful warrior heroes like they always do in their past movies, they’ll be playing sweet, gentle, and tender young men experiencing their first loves! We finally get to see a different side of both Eriol and Xiaolang and their acting skills will definitely be tested in this particular movie!”

“But that’s not why we’re having a joint meeting here today, everyone!” Chiharu continued from where Rika left off. “We’re holding a meeting here because of something that’s related to the production of the movie. The famous director, Yoshiyuki Terada, and the popular husband and wife screenwriting team, Toshifumi and Taeko Kashii, have found the perfect place to shoot the movie.”

“Right here in our very own town of Tomoeda!” The two presidents called out simultaneously with the ones present screaming and cheering and squealing for joy.

“Oh wow!” Tomoyo giggled and turned to Sakura, who was sitting right across from her. “Did you hear that? A movie crew— and Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa— they’re gonna be here in Tomoeda!”

“Wow indeed,” Sakura chuckled along. “That’s just amazing! How lucky we are, ne, Tomoyo?”

Chiharu and Rika began to hush their fellow fans present. “Okay, listen up. We’re not done yet with all this, okay? Here comes the important part.” Immediately, everyone fell silent once they heard Chiharu’s commanding voice. “We had a meeting with the mayor, along with all other fanclubs of the other stars involved in the upcoming movie. As a celebration, we will be having a Tomoeda-only welcome celebration for our stars. It’s not going to be televised or filmed or anything like that, however, there will also be a live press conference. The entire world shouldn’t know where they are, therefore to the eyes of the public, they can’t know that they’re in Tomoeda territory. We’re just gonna be known as the locals if we do get our faces caught by the media. And for privacy reasons, please don’t reveal your names to the public, alright?”

Rika gave a nod. “Chiharu’s right, guys. We won’t just be a fanclub to Eriol Hiiragizawa and Li Xiaolang, we’re also going to be their hosts, so we also have to protect them from the really aggressive paparazzi and other wandering rabid fans too. Here’s our chance to show all the other fanclubs how Tomoeda Branch Moonies and Wolfpups are true and dedicated to the safety, security, and privacy of our beloved Eriol and Xiaolang!”

The crowd roared as Tomoyo turned her head right back at Sakura. “Wow. Both the Wolfpups and the Moonies sure are pumped up today!”

“Well, they have to be, Tomoyo,” Sakura giggled. “After all, their beloved Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa will be coming here to Tomoeda and… who knows how long they’ll be here, you know?”

“True. But I wonder if they’ll be allowed to… you know… mingle with the locals…”

“Tomoyo, are you serious?” Sakura chuckled. “They’re only going to be here on business, so I don’t think they’d have the time to mingle. When it comes to making movies, you can’t afford to waste time.”

Tomoyo sighed. “You’re right, Sakura. Who are we kidding?”

The meeting continued on, with the members asking questions. Most of them turned out to be just unconfirmed rumors about their favorite idols, such as their love life or their rumored girlfriend and what not. Sakura didn’t catch anything from Chiharu and Rika regarding the date of the movie crew’s arrival and then raised her hand.

“Wow! You’re here, Sakura! Welcome!” Rika chuckled, giving her a wave. “What’s your question?”

Sakura simply gave a humble grin. “I was wondering, when will they be arriving?”

“Ah!” Chiharu gasped. “I can’t believe we neglected the date they’ll be arriving! Actually, the news said they’ll be arriving here this weekend, but in reality, they’re actually arriving in two days—”

“Two days?” Sakura gasped in shock. “Is this so they can elude the media and the paparazzi? So that means this whole celebration thing will actually take in two days?”

“Correcto!” Rika winked. “We’re about to get to that. I’m glad you and Tomoyo came to the meeting. We really hoped you would.”

“Anything for our best friends, you know,” Tomoyo giggled.

“Well, the press conference and our little welcome celebration will happen in the same day. The press conference comes first and then our special Tomoeda entertainment will come right after. The mayor said that the director would like to have a special welcome performance from some of Tomoeda’s best talent. And when I heard that, I thought about the Cool Rascals!” Chiharu exclaimed.

“Eh?” Sakura and Tomoyo blinked. “The Cool Rascals— you mean _our_ band?”

“But of course!” Chiharu winked. “You, Tomoyo, my Taka-chan, your brother, and of course, Yukito-san. You guys really rock, you know?”

“Wow!” Tomoyo chuckled nervously. “That’s… that’s quite an honor. You want us to perform in front of Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa and all those famous stars?”

“I… I don’t know…” Sakura muttered, knowing how much nerve-racking to be given such a prestigious honor to perform in front of a group of A-list celebrities.

“Oh come on, you guys! It’s better that non-fans would be the ones performing because it’d be easier that way. They won’t have to feel all nervous and all that in front of their favorite idols, you know?” Chiharu begged.

“Plus,” Rika added, “ the fact that you and Tomoyo don’t watch TV or the movies or even read celebrity magazines, it’s a whole lot smoother, you know?”’

Sakura lowered her head. “Oh no…”

“So, will you guys do it?” Chiharu begged once more. “Tomoyo? Will you?”

“Hm,” Tomoyo began to ponder to herself. “Well. We’ll think about it.”

“This is great!” Rika quickly embraced the two non-fan girls. “This would be good opportunity for you girls to forget all your troubles. Sakura, you can forget about those bastards you ended up having boring dinner dates with, most especially the recent one. And Tomoyo, you can completely forget about that jerk of an ex-boyfriend when you guys do this.”

“Y-you think so…?” Tomoyo gave a faint smile.

“Absolutely!”

The meeting continued on, but this time, both Sakura and Tomoyo opened their ears to listen to the club presidents. Sakura even brought out her Chiirou bear and cuddled it close to her.

 

#

 

The media announced throughout celebrity news that this coming weekend is the arrival of the movie crew to their unnamed location where the upcoming teen romance movie _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ will be taking place. The mayor and the fanclub presidents were informed by the producers of the movie that they will be arriving on Tomoeda in Tuesday, two days from the day the two fanclubs held a joint meeting to inform their fellow fans of their arrival. The movie cast and crew, namely lead by the famous director Yoshiyuki Terada, were already traveling in a caravan with two recreational buses and two truckloads of props at the highways, making their way towards Tomoeda today. Yesterday was Sunday and today was Monday.

Two of the popular main cast members of the movie, dark-haired, indigo-eyed Eriol Hiiragizawa, and their female co-star, dark-haired, brown-eyed Meiling Li, sat across from each other watching their fellow co-star, the alluring mocha-haired, amber-eyed Syaoran Li, more known to the public as Li Xiaolang, sleeping peacefully in his seat. On one arm, he was cradling on a slightly raggedy creamy pink-colored stuffed animal that gave Eriol a bit of curiosity.

“He looks so peaceful when he’s asleep,” Meiling smiled happily.

“Yeah,” Eriol gave a slight sigh. “It’s rather out of character to see him with a pink teddy bear like that."

Meiling turned to Eriol and softly hushed him. “It’s important that he should bring that stuffed animal with him, Eriol. His mother insisted even if Xiaolang felt really embarrassed about it.”

“Crazy. His mother may be in intimidating but she can have some crazy ideas for her son sometimes. Seven years of therapy back when he used to live in Hong Kong and until he moved back here to Japan to start his showbiz career… and now a stuffed animal.”

Meiling moved from her side and invited herself to sit next to Eriol. “Eriol, you’ve become Xiaolang’s best friend since he moved back here in Japan during your training. I guess his family never really told you about what happened to him that he had to go through all this therapy.”

“Your family is closer to his family so I’ll assume you already know.”

Meiling gave a nod. “Just about three months right after they moved back to Hong Kong briefly he and his father got into a major car accident. Luckily both of them survived, however, his father is forever wheelchair bound and couldn’t walk anymore and Xiaolang had a massive concussion and he lost quite a huge amount of his memories. Luckily he was able to restore most of them overtime during his time in Hong Kong. Taking on this movie project with him being the lead character should be the final piece of the puzzle that can finally complete the restoration of the memories he lost from that accident.”

“So, let me get this straight, Meiling,” Eriol answered. “His family sent him back here to Japan from Hong Kong… just so he can restore the final piece of his memories?”

“He started his showbiz career as a child star in Hong Kong. Then when he reached thirteen, his movies that he appeared in— all action martial arts, of course, became so popular in Japan that the showbiz industry here wanted to cast him in their future fantasy action movies. And of course, it was there that you two met in the agency his family signed him up for.”

“Well I know about his career history but I didn’t know anything about his childhood before he entered showbiz.”

“His manager and butler Wei came along with him, and of course, his sisters also came along with him when the parents sent him back here. His mother and his sisters tried everything to restore his memories through childhood pictures and the old school uniforms he had to wear when he was a kid here, everything. His mother said that the teddy bear he’s holding right now is the most important key in to restoring the final piece of his memories, but it won’t trigger in unless he actually goes to the actual environment and atmosphere of the place of his missing memories. Well, I really do hope his mother is right about this…”

Eriol fell silent at first to contemplate. Moments later, he continued. “So, is that why you broke up with him, Meiling?”

Meiling turned her head towards Syaoran, and then right towards Eriol. “It’s only been two months since we broke up. We both decided to break up because he admitted that he just doesn’t feel any type of romantic love for me even way before we started going out. He simply just wanted to try us dating to see if his feelings for me were real love or not. And besides, for six months that we’ve been dating, we never kissed at all except for the cheek.”

“What? You two never kissed on the lips? Or anywhere? Except the cheek?”

“Well, somehow, it’s both of us. We both avoided the kissing on the lips part. I guess for me, I just didn’t feel the mood coming from him. Him, on the other hand, just didn’t really want to kiss me.”

“Ouch. That must be painful for you.”

“But as for me, along with that, I know deep in my heart that he loves someone else.”

“But Meiling, how can you say that? Does he love someone else? He’s never been serious with other girls aside from you! And I don’t think he’s ever met other girls I’ve never met before. Whenever he’s interested in a particular girl, he would always introduce me to her.”

“He wasn't serious with me either,” Meiling chuckled. “Well, it’s partially my fault too. I’ve been selfish whenever we were together, and I was even selfish way before that. Besides, his parents, especially his mother, never really enjoyed seeing him bringing in some pretty girl into their household. Of course, his mother and I got along and became friends eventually, but she was also honest that she just doesn’t have the heart to accept our relationship. She was willing to give us a chance, but the more I spent more time with Xiaolang, the more I was beginning to realize that his mind and heart was somewhere else. And then eventually we just became honest with each other regarding our true feelings and we agreed to break up.”

“I understand all that, but you didn’t exactly answer my question. What makes you think that he’s in love with someone else?”

“Well, his mother said, the answer lies in his pink stuffed animal.”

Eriol turned his head towards the sleeping Xiaolang, then gave a grin. “The answer lies in his stuffed animal, huh…”

Meiling placed a finger on her chin. “Hm, I bet you, it’s not just the teddy bear that we’re talking about here, Eriol.”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“I think Mrs. Li and his sisters were possibly referring to how Xiaolang got that teddy bear in the first place?”

Eriol fell silent and began to contemplate. Seconds later, he snapped his finger. “I bet you; someone may have given him that stuffed animal. I’m sure of it. Knowing Xiaolang’s overwhelming masculinity there’s just no way he’d pick up some random pink teddy bear and say that he wants to have it and not do anything with it, you know? It’s just… not like him.”

Meiling giggled. “That’s why I also wanted to be part of this cast too, Eriol. I promised Xiaolang’s family that I would help him cure of his amnesia and regain all of his memories again. That teddy bear and his entire childhood here in Japan is the last piece of memory that needs to be restored.”

“That reminds me too, Meiling,” Eriol changed the subject. “I met up with one of his sisters just two days before we left. She mentioned something about this place we’re going to.”

“You mean Tomoeda? It’s a really small and secluded town that not very many people have heard of. I’ve only heard of it from Mrs. Li and his sisters. They were really sad to leave but they had no choice. It’s a very special place to them and it’s always been that way. Can you believe that?”

“I’m guessing they used to live in Tomoeda long time ago?”

“And even though Xiaolang doesn’t want to believe it, his mom said that he even named that pink teddy bear too. Aww, he’s got a really cute and tender side too, ne, Eriol?”

Eriol softly chuckled. “A name, huh? What’d he name that stuffed animal?”

“Ying Fa,” Meiling joined in the soft chortling.

“Ying Fa. Very Chinese.”

“It’s Chinese for ‘cherry blossom.’”

“Ohhhh,” Eriol snickered. “Because of the pink color, right?”

“Ha ha ha, could be,” Meiling snickered in return. Quickly, Eriol reached for his cellphone in his pocket and took a quick snapshot of a sleeping Syaoran cuddling his pink stuffed animal. “Awwww, so cute! I wanna pinch him so much… and his stuffed animal too!” The two began to giggle when a few of their fellow teen stars took notice of their

“Hey, what are you giggling about?” One of the female teen stars, a dirty blonde-haired beauty named Mai Hirashiki, sat close to the two. “Why is it that the three of you always keep things to yourselves and not share anything with the rest of us?”

Meiling snickered. “Listen, Mai, just because you are now the leading lady opposite Xiaolang, that doesn’t give you the right to declare to the entire world that you and Xiaolang are a couple in real life!”

“Hmph!” Mai rolled her eyes. “You and Xiaolang already broke up. Why are you still hanging out with him? He’s already free and readily available!”

“Ugh,” Meiling tightened her fist and glared at the co-star. “You don’t know anything between Xiaolang and I, so back off, will you? We agreed to stay as friends and that’s more than enough for me to be happy with him. He may be available now but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give his heart to some pretty girl who is ready and willing to give herself to him. Jeez, get a clue, Mai!”

Mai raised an eyebrow right at Meiling and then shifted her gaze towards Eriol. “Why Eriol, how about you? Word says that you too also broke up with your ex-girlfriend not too long ago. What happened?”

Eriol raised an eyebrow. “Too dedicated to our work. That’s all there is to it. I care more about my career than my love life and she felt the same with her modeling. Why are you so nosy anyway?”

“You know… if things don’t work out for me and Xiaolang, you know… you’re next on my list…”

Eriol burst iintolaughter. “What makes you think I’m interested in you, Hirashiki? Enough daydreaming now.”

“Hmph. Well, I was just reminding you, that’s all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Eriol answered with the obvious sarcasm in his tone. At this point, he and Meiling remained silent, obviously waiting for Mai to walk away. Just their luck, Mai’s manager called to her up front.

“Well then, my manager is calling me. I’ll be back!” Mai winked and walked her way at the front where her manager was waiting for her.

Eriol and Meiling sighed in relief. “Ugh, that Mai Hirashiki… she’s so damn nosy, even way before Xiaolang and I started dating…”

“You’re telling me,” Eriol frowned. “It seems you and I are on the same wavelength of not continuing to talk about Xiaolang’s amnesia problem in front of her. Who knows what that girl could do…”

Meiling crossed her arms along with a frown. “So, Eriol, aside from working on our usual lines and shoot the movie on the set, do you have any ideas on how we can help Xiaolang regain his final pieces of his memories?”

Eriol shook his head. “Well, one thing I can tell you. Ideas will definitely come to my mind once we arrive at Tomoeda, plus that pink stuffed animal of his is really getting to me also.”

“You’re right, Eriol. I guess it’s a good idea to wait.”

Just as they were about to continue on with their conversation, they heard Syaoran squirming in his sleep. The two snapped their heads at the back to find him slightly moving from his sleep and then suddenly cradled his pink Ying Fa teddy bear tighter to him. Meiling simply smiled, feeling delighted at the sight of a domineering martial arts action star like Li Xiaolang show his innocent and tender side at sleep.

“Mmmm…” Syaoran moaned softly, still trapped in his peaceful travel sleep.

“Shhh…” Meiling and Eriol faced each other, hushing to lower their silence. Then the two ended up chuckling in a whisper.

“Sakura…”

“Eh?” The two teens turned their heads towards Syaoran, only to find him still sleeping. For sure, they recognized his rich and young masculine voice murmuring the name.

“Sakura…?” Meiling whispered to Eriol with a perplexed look in her eyes.

“The cherry blossom trees?” Eriol shrugged his shoulders.

At this point, Meiling sighed. “You know… when Xiaolang and I were still together, there was one thing that I noticed about him.”

“Oh?” Eriol asked curiously.

“It’s just that… whenever we go to the park and… during spring we would go to the park for Hanami… well… he would always have this really sad and lonely look in his eyes whenever he gazes at the cherry blossoms.”

“Hm,” Eriol blinked, rubbing his chin. “Now that you mentioned it… I noticed that about him too.”

“Really? You too? So I guess it isn’t just me then…”

“I even confronted him about it. All he said was that he just loves the sakura trees, especially during spring, because it gives him peace, tranquility, and somehow just by looking at them, all his stresses and troubles simply just melt away from him. He even denied me when I mentioned that he always had that sad look on his face whenever he looked at them as if he was going to cry.”

“Yup, that’s what I noticed too,” Meiling sighed.

“Speaking of sakura trees,” Eriol changed the subject, “that also reminded me one thing, Meiling.”

“What’s that, Eriol?”

“On that day I confronted him, he said that he knew a place where the cherry blossoms were always in full bloom all year long. It’s general knowledge that cherry blossoms only last during the first few months of spring, like March and April and then it’ll be green and bald for the rest of the other seasons. I’ve never heard of sakura trees always in full bloom all year long, so I thought he was messing around with me or something.”

“You’re right about that, Eriol,” Meiling chuckled. “Although I wonder… I wonder if there is such thing as a sakura always in full bloom all year long…”

“Who knows…”

 

#

 

This particular Monday late morning also happened to be the first Monday of their summer break. The residents of Hoshiten Drive, Sakura and Touya Kinomoto, Yukito Tsukishiro, and the Kinomotos’ next-door neighbor, Takashi Yamazaki, arrived at the gateway of the Daidouji home just across the street from theirs. This particular residential road was a lot different from the rest of the town’s neighborhoods, where homes for the wealthy and for the middle class were integrated together. Among this small group, the Daidouji Home and the Yamazaki Home were the palatial types of the neighborhood, along with their own iron gates and a fancy-designed front fountain and porch.

Although in the case of the Yamazaki Home, Takashi Yamazaki, who recently turned eighteen not too long ago, was merely a housekeeper as the house he was currently living in belonged to another wealthy family who used to reside in Tomoeda. Sakura's long-lost childhood love, Syaoran Li, and his domineering family, used to live in that same home. The Yamazakis made a deal with the Li Clan to take care of their home as they will be serving it as a vacation home in case they wanted to visit Tomoeda again. Because the Yamazakis live further down the street from their block, they allowed Takashi to live in the house so he can be closer to his classmates, most especially with his long-time girlfriend, Club Wolfpups president, Chiharu Mihara.

Sakura pressed the intercom button at the gate. “Yes? Who is this?”

“Hi, this is Sakura from across the street? My brother, Takashi Yamazaki, and Yukito Tsukishiro are here to see Tomoyo?”

“Ah, that’s right! Miss Tomoyo has been expecting you. Please come in.” The electric gate slowly opened as the guests entered the Daidouji premises.

They approached the door, and just as Sakura was about to press the doorbell, the door opened, with Tomoyo greeting them. “Hey guys! You’re just in time! Come on in!”

“Where to, Tomoyo?” Sakura asked with a grin in her face.

“To the basement where we can practice what we’re gonna perform for this weekend when the stars and the movie crew arrive,” Tomoyo answered. “I got the instruments all set up already.”

“Cool! The Cool Rascals will be making their debut by performing in front of the coolest starts in all of Japan!” Yamazaki exclaimed happily.

“Lead the way,” Touya shrugged.

Seconds later, they reached the basement. The basement was designed to look more like a studio. Tomoyo just didn’t have a penchant for fashion design but she also had a penchant for filming and producing videos and recording some audio for her music. The Daidouji basement only showed any musician or movie producer that this would be the perfect place for them to get creative.

Sakura stood behind the keyboard, while Yamazaki picked up his bass guitar and Yukito with the lead guitar. Touya headed for the seat in front of the drum set and began doing his drumstick warm ups. Tomoyo went inside the control room, picked up a folder, and then handed out four packets to the other four while the fifth copy stayed in her

“So, over the weekend, I wrote eight songs straight. I was thinking of just performing at least three or four of them. Right now, the packet that I gave you guys are music sheets of the first four songs I came up with.”

“Wow, Tomoyo-chan,” Yukito chuckled. “After that nasty breakup with that Ken Bunchin guy you were dating for three months, you sure are on a roll…”

Tomoyo sighed. “I just had to distract myself and… well… get over the entire breakup. But let’s not talk about that now. I’m over it.”

“Good to hear, Tomoyo,” Sakura smiled, patting her best friend on the shoulder. “You’re way better than that jerk anyway. We all think that way.”

“Thanks, guys!” She cleared her throat so she can change the subject. “Anyway, first song that we’ll start learning is called ‘I Won’t Cry.’ It’s a pretty upbeat song, so there’s no way people are going to fall asleep when we perform it. Let’s go through a run-through of the music sheets now, shall we?”

The band members took the top music sheet with the title written “ _I Wont Cry_ by Tomoyo Daidouji” on top. They took the time to look through the scale and even the words typed underneath. Sakura hummed the tune by reading through the notes while Yukito and Yamazaki gently tapped their foot to capture the core beat of the song.

Touya, on the other hand, cringed when he began reading the words to the song. “Tomoyo-chan, what the heck is this? Is this a breakup song?”

Tomoyo blinked. “Well, I wrote that after I learned that Ken Bunchin was cheating behind my back, and rather than just shedding tears over it, I decided to lash out all my frustrations through this song. And I believe it worked well.”

Touya began to scratch the side of his head with his finger. “Oh… kay…”

“Well then, let me sing it for you so you can be familiar with the melody.” She made a countdown and began snapping her fingers:

 

_I have a boyfriend_

_He isn’t true_

_He’s gonna leave me_

_I don’t know what to do_

_No, I won’t cry_

_I won’t cry_

_I won’t cry over someone_

_Who doesn’t really love me_

 

_He always tells me_

_Things are alright_

_But if he meant it_

_Where is he tonight?_

_No, I won’t cry_

_I won’t cry_

_I won’t cry over someone_

_Who doesn’t really love me_

 

_He doesn’t understand_

_The way that I feel_

_He’s gotta hold my hand_

_And let me know that our love is real_

_As if it would be easy_

_I always tell him_

_Now he’s gotta tell me_

_He’s gotta say I shouldn’t cry_

_Shouldn’t cry_

_Shouldn’t cry over someone_

_Who doesn’t really love me_

 

“Hey,” Yukito grinned, “I like the tune and it is quite upbeat. We should play the instrumental and see how it’d sound like.”

"And easy to harmonize too, Tomoyo!" Sakura cheered, giving her a thumbs up.

“You see?” Tomoyo giggled. “I may look fragile on the outside but I refuse to lose to that jerk. Who on earth does he think he is? Don Juan? I will have my revenge on him one day. I swore to myself that the next boy who approaches me will be someone way better than him.” She tightened her fist and expressed a very determined Tomoyo to her band members.

“That’s the spirit, Tomoyo!” Sakura cheered. “And that should go the same for me too! I won’t shed a single tear for the next boy Dad would try to set me up with. This is a personal promise.”

“Huh,” Touya raised an eyebrow. “That Sakamoto brat was a total bastard though. I wouldn’t mind ripping his head off if I wanted to. He deserves to be laughed up while getting beaten up to a pulp!”

“Now now, Touya, no violence in the Daidouji Household,” Yukito teased.

“Well, why don’t we practice our parts by ourselves first before we get together and play the entire song together?” Yamazaki suggested. “I think it’d be easier that way.”

“Good idea!” Sakura exclaimed.

“Maybe the guitarists can go at the backyard to practice. Sakura and I can go to my room to practice. I have a keyboard in my room upstairs so we don’t have to carry that there. You can stay here, Touya-niichan.”

Touya shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever works.”

“Great!” With that, the band split up to their own practice spots to work on their music.

When Tomoyo brought Sakura in to her overly spacious bedroom, she led her to another set of keyboards right against the wall facing Tomoyo’s neatly-organized dresser. Sakura took a seat behind the keyboard and placed her sheet music on the stand. With just her right hand, she began to play the melody repeatedly so her hands can get used to the correct keys.

“Guess what, Sakura,” Tomoyo giggled. “I finally borrowed the special Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa editions of _Swag Starlets Magazine_ from Chiharu and Rika earlier today and we can finally see how their idols Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa look like!”

Sakura returned the soft giggle. “You can’t be serious, Tomoyo!”

Tomoyo scooted herself gently at the seat next to Sakura. “Let’s look through these really quick.”

She released her hands from the keyboard and relaxed her straight body. “Alright, which magazine should we look through first?”

“Well, we have the Eriol Hiiragizawa edition on top first. Let’s look at his.”

“Okay.”

Tomoyo placed the Eriol Hiiragizawa magazine on the stand right over the music sheets. Sakura grinned once she spotted her best friend blushing. “Wow!” Sakura chuckled. “This Eriol guy is pretty handsome! I love the color of his eyes. They’re so… cool and… deep…”

“You should see Li Xiaolang’s mesmerizing eyes, Sakura,” Tomoyo snickered. “But let’s check out Eriol’s first.”

“He looks so dang cool with his hair being styled all messy-looking but still neatly maintained. That smile sure is to die for, that’s for sure.”

Tomoyo flipped the covers to see more of Eriol’s solo poses. There were articles and such completely dedicated to Eriol, but they stumbled upon a fast fact sheet section.

“Let’s see here,” Tomoyo began. “Eriol Hiiragizawa… he’s the same age as us.”

“Okay.”

“And… oh! He was born in England? He’s half-British?” Tomoyo gasped. “That explains the cool deep blue eyes and his first name being Eriol.”

“Wow! Why do all the mixed-blooded kids have to be so good-looking…”

“You’re telling me.” Tomoyo continued to read along. “Wow, he’s quite tall, at 5’11”, almost as tall as Yamazaki. And he sure has a lot of hobbies. A very well-rounded entertainer. He can play the piano and some guitar, can sing, can dance, can cook, loves to read as well as play video games… wow! He is fluent in Japanese and a bit of Chinese, in addition to his native English. He spends much of his time between Japan, Hong Kong, and the UK. He’s an Eton College student— hey, a lot of the British Royals and aristocracy graduate from that school, you know…”

“Wow… an overachieving teen idol…?” Sakura muttered in awe. “I wonder how he’s able to juggle between being a celebrity while being a student at such a prestigious school in England…”

“It also says here that one of his goals was to become a Rhodes Scholar and attend college at the University of Oxford!”

“So he plans to stay to England for good when he graduates high school…”

“Nope!” Tomoyo giggled. “It said that Oxford has a special online program for overseas British students, so that means Eriol can study through a specially customized online studies program, so pretty much he can be at home or on the set that has internet connection and study while he does his work!”

“Wow, that’s really cool!”

“And the qualities for his ideal girl: Someone who isn’t afraid to be herself at all times, someone who is goal-oriented, fate-fearing— not sure what he meant by that— someone who believes in friendship first before love, someone… someone who would accept him inside and out…’”

“Eriol must have very high standards!”

“I think I like him already…” Tomoyo gave a soft chuckle.

“Eh?” Sakura chuckled, nudging Tomoyo on the side, as the two began to laugh. Right then, she changed the tone of her voice. “I envy you so much, Tomoyo.”

“Hm? What for?”

“Well… you’re always calm and… so level-headed with… everything. I mean, a breakup with one of Tomoeda’s most popular rich guys like Ken Bunchin… that must be… I mean…”

Tomoyo simply shook her head and smiled. “It’s not the end of the world, Sakura. It was all my mother’s idea anyway to try out and go out on a date with one of those society boys in the Tomoeda Elite Circle. You know I’m in the same position as you, Sakura!”

“Oh, right,” Sakura sighed. “The whole tradition of parents setting up their teenage daughters to some random guy for potential future marriage. I wish we didn’t have to go through this…”

The best friend placed her arm around her shoulders. “Don’t forget our childhood promise together, right? Both of us are going to find the right guy and both of us are going to have a double wedding. It’ll be the best wedding celebration the entire Tomoeda has ever witnessed! Just because my previous relationship was serious epic fail, that doesn’t mean that I’ve become worthless. And you, my little cherry blossom girl, should always keep your chin up and look forward. Don’t let those idiots bring you down simply because you’ve got uncommon habits. So what if you love your Chiirou stuffed animal more than a boy? I think it’s really adorable!”

Sakura flashed a slight grin. “Well… it’s not just about Chiirou… it’s…”

“I know, Sakura. It’s about… him…” Sakura gave a shy nod.

“I believe in everything that’s written in The Book of Keroberos, Tomoyo. That’s why I put all my heart, my soul, into making the pink stuffed animal for him before he left.” She sighed deeply and began to murmur. “Tomoyo… I miss Syaoran so much…”

Tomoyo placed both her arms and embraced her sisterly friend. “Oh Sakura… I know he will return. Syaoran-kun will return. He has your stuffed animal… and you have Chiirou, ne? Don’t let some dumb tradition bring you down. Just keep on believing, Sakura. He’ll come. And you’re not the only one who misses him. I miss him too, and so does Yamazaki-kun…”

“Thanks so much, Tomoyo…” They released each other from their embrace and decided to move forward. She closed the magazine and took it down from the stand.

“Let’s take a look at Li Xiaolang now, shall we?”

Sakura swallowed nervously. Now that she had seen the prince-like English gentleman Eriol Hiiragizawa, it was time to meet the much talked-about alluring Chinese martial arts teen cutie. Tomoyo finally placed the second magazine on the stand with a very alluring cover.

Tousled chestnut hair. Deep amber eyes. With just one look, Sakura's heart immediately skipped a beat for a few seconds or so. Jeez, she thought to herself while being unaware of the intense blushing appearing on her cheeks. Tomoyo never jokes around when it comes to boys. If anyone thought Eriol Hiiragizawa’s cool indigo eyes was something to die for, Li Xiaolang’s dangerously powerful, intense, and enticing amber eyes finally trapped her heart in a cage.

“What… intense… beautiful… eyes…” Sakura murmured as she gently traced her fingertips on the cover.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Tomoyo giggled. “Sure, Eriol Hiiragizawa’s a complete prince, but Li Xiaolang… just one look in those jeweled eyes and you are completely entrapped in his mesmerizing charm without even making an effort.”

Sakura had been silent all this time once she caught his eyes. Sure, any person would have amber-colored eyes, but the eyes of Li Xiaolang somehow gave a different vibe towards her. She had always loved amber-colored eyes mainly because of…

“Syaoran…”

Tomoyo blinked in surprise. “Eh? Syaoran? That’s… out of the blue there…”

“Those eyes… and the color of his hair… but mostly his eyes…”

“You’re talking about Li Xiaolang’s hair and eyes?”

“His eyes reminds me so much of Syaoran. Somehow, the intensity of the gaze he was giving when he was facing the camera. It’s like… how Syaoran would look at me whenever we played and hung out together back then…”

“Really? Syaoran has amber eyes too? Well, I can’t say that I noticed them since I’m not as close to him as you and Yamazaki were, Sakura.”

Sakura swallowed nervously once more and then proceeded to flipping the cover. Just like the Eriol edition, it also have a fast fact sheet section. Since Tomoyo was the one who read Eriol’s fast fact sheet, she decided to return the favor.

“Li Xiaolang, born in Hong Kong. It looks like, at age two, he and his family moved to Japan for the attempted expansion of their business empire in Tokyo, but lived a very quiet and modest life at an unnamed rural town to get away from the bustling city life,” Sakura read. “He’s tall too… at 5’10”. He’s an inch shorter than Eriol, about two to three inches shorter than Yamazaki. And he’s about a month younger than Yamazaki, some months older than us, Tomoyo. His birthday is on July 13...”

 _July 13? The same birthday as Syaoran?!_ Sakura's eyes opened wide with the surprising similarity between the idol Li Xiaolang and her childhood love Syaoran Li.

“He seems really mature but he looks like he’s a little younger than Eriol,” Tomoyo made her comments.

“His family also has a long history of martial arts as well. His ancestors held specialized martial arts classes and had passed these teachings and practices from generation to generation. At age fifteen, Li Xiaolang finally earned the title of Grand Master and is the heir apparent to the Li Clan empire. He likes martial arts, reading, art, soccer, and oh! He also likes music too!” She continued on with the fact sheet and then changed her cheery tone.

“Hm? What is it, Sakura?”

“Poor Xiaolang,” Sakura sighed sadly. “It said that at age eleven, he and his father got in to a serious car accident back in Hong Kong that left his father paralyzed forever and him suffering a heavy concussion that caused him temporary amnesia. However, according to the fact sheet, Xiaolang said that he can always create new memories to live by and is progressing real well through therapy and that he almost recovered most of his memories.”

“Wow… that must be very traumatic for him, but he’s also amazing at the same time. He continued to walk forward and created his own path to success. I wonder what made him decide to enter showbiz though…”

“Wow, like Eriol,” Sakura continued, “Xiaolang speaks more than one. He speaks fluent Japanese along with his native Chinese and is currently learning English from his fellow best friend idol, Eriol Hiiragizawa.”

“They really are the best of friends, ne?” Tomoyo giggled. “Those two are like us!” Quickly she placed her arm around Sakura once more.

“Wh-what? Xiaolang and Eriol? Like us?”

“Yup! Best friends forever! We teach new things to each other and, you know, always tight like that.”

“You’re crazy, Tomoyo.” The two girls laugh again as they continued on.

“He is currently being home schooled through Hong Kong’s and Japan’s finest independent tutors but plans to eventually attend an actual school campus here in Japan. After graduation from high school, he still has to decide whether he will be returning to Hong Kong and attend a prestigious university there or stay in Japan and attempt to get himself admitted to Todai. Whoa, Todai…”

“He must be really smart and studious, that’s for sure, Sakura.”

“Finally, here we are!” Sakura exclaimed. “Xiaolang’s ideal girl!”

“Let’s see it!”

“The magazine even quoted him, Tomoyo. ‘There can only be one girl for me and she is out there.’”

Tomoyo blinked in surprise. “What? That’s it?”

“Yup. That’s it.”

“Wow. So mysterious…” Tomoyo murmured. “So… so… mysterious.”

“He’s teasing his fangirls, Tomoyo!” Sakura giggled as the two gave each other high-fives.

“You’re so cute, Sakura,” Tomoyo grinned. “With the way you reacted towards Xiaolang’s picture, I’ll definitely assume that you like him.”

Sakura quickly placed her hands on her cheeks to cover the blushing. “I… well… um… I… I was just… well… his eyes captivated me… so yeah. I like his eyes!”

“Uh huh…” Tomoyo snickered.

“But it’s true… I mean… look at those gorgeous amber jewel eyes, Tomoyo. Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by them?”

Tomoyo closed the magazine and then handed it towards her friend. “I’m keeping Eriol. You can keep Xiaolang.”

Sakura gulped nervously and slowly reached for the Xiaolang edition magazine. “I… I hope Chiharu wouldn’t mind…”

“That’s actually an extra copy,” Tomoyo giggled. “Chiharu has some perks being fanclub president, you know. She gets to have two copies of every single issue that heavily featured the idol. This Eriol one is actually Rika’s extra copy.”

Without being aware, Sakura suddenly cradled the magazine like she would with her dark gray Chiirou stuffed bear. “Tomoyo… I… um… thank you!” She continued flipping through the pages of the Li Xiaolang magazine until she spotted a section of photos with him and a very alluring pretty girl standing next to him. One look and Sakura found her heart gradually shattering in pieces.

“Oh!” Tomoyo exclaimed. “You won’t have to worry about the girl next to him. This is an old magazine, it was released early around January this year.”

“H-huh? What do you mean?”

“That’s Meiling Li. For the past two years they’re always paired together in those martial arts action movies in the past. They started going out for awhile but they recently broke up two months ago. Chiharu told me about it.” She then nudged Sakura on the side along with a wink. This upcoming movie has the two of them still, but Meiling is now being paired up with Eriol and another popular girl idol, Mai Hirashiki, is now Xiaolang’s new partner.”

“Oh. I see.” In her mind, Sakura couldn’t understand why she didn’t sound enthusiastic with the Chinese martial artist idol’s pairings with other girl actresses in his movies, let alone his love life outside showbiz, but for sure she could feel gradual pain within her heart.

“But nevertheless, Sakura, they’re both single— and they’re coming to Tomoeda tomorrow! For sure, Sakura, together, we’ll win their hearts and get close to them! For sure!”

“Ehhhh?” Sakura quickly scooted away from Tomoyo while clinging on to the magazine. “Wait… win their hearts? You’re joking, right?”

“Ohohohohoho!” Tomoyo laughed. She then took the magazine and then pointed her finger at the tiny print captions just underneath the photos.

“Well, I really love their outfits here. They’re so… coordinated and… super stylish and… oh, and I love Meiling’s blazer here! I wanna have one of those!”

“Sakura, take a look at where I’m pointing at here!”

“Hoe?” Sakura read the small print to herself. It only provided credits to the stylists who did their hair and makeup at the first part. The second line mentioned the credit regarding the very hip and cool fashionable outfits the starlet couple were wearing in this photo shoot. “Eh? Daidouji Couture?”

“Yup!” Tomoyo grinned.

“Your mother designed these? They’re wearing your mother’s designs? Oh my— how come you didn’t tell me, Tomoyo?”

“They have a five-year contract with Daidouji Couture that many of thieir public attire as well as their photo shoot clothes and movie set fashions will all be designed and provided by my mother’s creations. This year is their second year that they’ll be endorsing Daidouji Couture fashions! Eriol is also included too!”

Sakura reached for the Eriol magazine from Tomoyo’s arms and flipped through the pages to admire the attire Eriol wore throughout the entire photo shoot. The small print also mentioned Daidouji Couture regarding his fashions. “Your mom is so awesome! She gets to have these three as her clients.”

“Ohohohoho, you don’t know my mother’s clientele,” Tomoyo snickered. “Half of her clientele consist of some of the world’s top celebrities. Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, SIngapore, Indonesia, Philippines, France, Italy, Germany, UK, America… she’s got a huge list of clientele of famous people!”

“That’s just… that’s just amazing, Tomoyo!”

“And that’s why there’s just no way that you could ever make some lame excuse for being so negative, Sakura?”

“Hoe? Negative about what?”

“Your chances with Li Xiaolang, of course. No matter how far away they may be from Tomoeda, we’ve got high chances of actually meeting them and getting to hang out with them. Mom says that their managers and even their families are so close with mom and her staff now that they may even want to extend their client contracts from five years to forever! When we have a chance to go to the city to visit my mother’s design center, there’s plenty of chances that we’ll be able to meet them behind the scenes!”

“But… well, Tomoyo, you’re one of the upper-class elite here in Tomoeda, so it’s obvious that you’ll always be present. Plus you’re a future fashion designer yourself so you can always tenure under your mom when the time comes. But me… well… I don’t know anything about fashion, let alone the goings on with Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa or even Meiling Li and… well you know…”

“Nonsense, Sakura! Tomoeda is the true home base of the Daidouji Couture. There is a special studio within the house where Mom works with her designs, as well as a small photography studio. Sure, you never notice the activities going on at my house since we’re always in school and such, but a lot of things do happen here at home. Of course I never told anyone because I don’t really have any interests in what my mom does or who Mom associates with.”

“So, Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa and Meiling Li have been here before?”

“You’re so funny, Sakura! No, tomorrow will be the first time they’ll be visiting here. And since they’ll be doing a movie shoot and such they’ll be here for awhile. I’m so excited!”

There really was no escaping Tomoyo, Sakura thought. Thanks to the overflowing enthusiasm her best friend just displayed this entire time, even she found herself anticipating for the arrival of the hot cast and crew of _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_. “I can’t wait, Tomoyo.”

Tomoyo grinned as they placed the magazines on the side. Sakura began memorizing her part of the first song while Tomoyo aided her by singing the song at the same time.

And yet, at the same time, her heart couldn't stop beating at the sight of Li Xiaolang on the cover of that magazine, not to mention his other alluring photos inside that same magazine. July 13, almost all of his likes and dislikes in his fact sheet, and most of the details mentioned in that magazine, were already pointing right towards her long-lost love.

_Li Xiaolang... are you.... can you be...? No.. no... I can't think like that now... and yet... yet..._

 

#

 

Two hours on the road later and it looks like the driver and the navigator of the lead bus took a wrong turn. If getting lost was one of the worst things that’s ever happened to a traveling cast and crew of a movie shoot, the gas on the second bus also got depleted. They had their stop an hour ago and yet the driver of the second bus became too confident that he didn’t need to fill up his bus for the next three hours. At this point, they had no choice but to make a stop in the middle of the open meadow and camp out for the rest of the night.

The good news though was that they were getting close to Tomoeda. Just fifteen more minutes to go and they will reach the entrance towards town. Almost the entire cast and crew panicked of their situation, most especially the fact that none of them even had experience being in some kind of a remote wilderness before. Yoshiyuki Terada, the director, the very renowned screenwriters Toshifumi and Taeko Kashii, and a few of the crew focused more on how they were going to find help with the second bus. It would have been easy for them to just call for help via cellphone, but because of location, there was no mobile signal existing in the wilderness at all.

While majority of the cast decided to remain on the bus for their fear of the wild, the three of the four main characters of the movie, namely Syaoran Li, alias Li Xiaolang, his best friend Eriol Hiiragizawa, and his former girlfriend-reverted-back-to-friend Meiling Li, it seems that the wilderness was just a second home for them. Somewhere nearby the buses, right up at the grassy floral fields, the three were practicing Tai Chi, facing the sun at the west side while soaking in the very cool and gentle breeze blowing through their hair.

After they finished their first Tai Chi routine, Eriol and Meiling sat down on the grass while they watched Syaoran continue with his Wushu pattern exercises. “You sure had a really long sleep on the road today, Xiao,” Eriol made his comment with a grin on his face.

“I didn’t get enough sleep last night,” Syaoran said, completely focused on his exercise while still keeping his ear open for conversation.

“So we heard,” Meiling chuckled. “Your sisters were saying that you kept waking up from a dream that you can’t explain.”

Syaoran felt that he had done enough stretching and exercise and decided to stop. He approached the two and sat on the grass facing them. “This feels so weird. We got lost and we’re stuck in this place… wherever we may be.”

“Yeah. The driver took the wrong turn, plus the second bus ran out of gas. Unbelievable…” Meiling crossed her arms, frowning.

“I mean… the meadow that we’re sitting on right now. It looks exactly the same setting as the dreams I’ve been getting lately,” Syaoran sighed, stretching his arms upright.

“By the way, Xiao,” Eriol began. “You’ve been talking in your sleep too while we were on the road earlier.”

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yup. You murmured ‘Sakura’ several times now,” Meiling chuckled. “Come on now, we always know that you love seeing cherry blossoms in full bloom. Too bad it’s summer…”

Syaoran placed his arms over his knees and hid his face. “Sakura… well… in my dream… somehow… all year long except winter, there’s also sakura that was always in full bloom. I don’t know how to explain this clearly but… ah…”

“Slow down, take it easy, Xiao,” Eriol calmed him down. “Okay. Slowly.”

“Sorry.” Syaoran cleared his throat and then began. “I was standing here… in a flowery meadow like where we are now… there were cherry blossom petals flying all over and… it was nighttime and there were a full moon and so many bright stars… and then across from me is a mysterious girl about my age. I couldn’t see her face but she was wearing a white dress. There were something sparkling flying from her face so I thought… they were tears… and… she was trying to reach to me. I had the urge to reach out to her and hold her hand but whenever that happens, the dream just ends like that.”

“Whoa… that’s… that’s intense, man,” Eriol blinked in surprise. “How long have you been having these dreams?”

“For about two months now… it’s weird… it started… two weeks before Meiling and I broke up.” He then gazed his amber eyes right towards Meiling. “Wouldn’t you wonder now that you decided to break up with me right after I started having those dreams…”

Meiling reached out to Syaoran and placed her hand on his. “I just had this feeling and realization around that time. I felt like it was the right thing to do. This was the first time you’ve told Eriol and me about these dreams right now. I know you’ve forgiven me already but still…”

Syaoran simply gave a smile towards her. “We understand each other Meiling, so… it’s no big deal anymore.”

“You’re right, Xiao,” Meiling grinned. “You know… I’ve been thinking about what your mother and your sisters have been telling me before we headed out today… about Tomoeda… about your Ying Fa pink stuffed bear… and that book that your mother lent to you…”

Syaoran’s eyes widened and gasped. “The book… that’s right!” Quickly he stood up, dashed right towards the bus where he spotted his backpack. Inside of it was a rather old and almost worn out thick book with engraved text that said _The Book of Keroberos_.

He reached Eriol and Meiling after he retrieved the book. There was a bookmark right after the very first few pages of the book and then presented it to his two friends. “Before I left home, my sister handed me this book. It was sent on a package from my mother all the way from Hong Kong on an Express Delivery. All it had was a note saying ' _Bring and read this book when you travel to Tomoeda for your movie shoot._ ' I don’t understand anything at all…”

Eriol reached for the book and then read the cover:  _The Book of Keroberos: The Enchanting Prose of Traditions and Quirks of Tomoeda_. He then grinned. “Whoa, Xiao, this is really cool! Who would have thought your family would have strong connections to the place we’re heading to!”

“My mother can be puzzling sometimes,” Syaoran frowned. “The first four or five pages were nothing but a bunch of random drabbles. I’m not getting anything at all.”

“Well, let’s see what the book has,” Meiling said. Eriol opened the book and found the table of contents. Meiling scooted closer to Eriol so she would be able to read.

“They sure got strange names here,” Eriol said. He then flipped the pages right towards the first page. He and Meiling began to read it aloud.

“ _Where’s the magic in this magic town?_

_Where’s the good life they said could be found?_

_Where’s the magic to make all our big dreams come true?_

_I gotta find it before I send for you_ ”

“Okay…” Eriol and Meiling gazed at one another while Syaoran shrugged his shoulders.

“See what I mean? They’re so… random…”

“Huh…” Eriol gently scratched the side of his head with a finger. He then continued by flipping through the pages right on to the bookmark that Syaoran placed. He and Meiling began to read it aloud.

“ _Life has begun_

_This here, O Land of the Rising Sun_

_When the sun continues to shine through all three-sixty-five_

_Where the moon and the stars always visible and alive_

_All four seasons still continue to bloom_

_From a speck of a pin drop to a loud sonic boom_

_Cherry blossoms come one, come forth_

_Bloom, one and all, from the south to the north_

_Forests and meadows always be fruitful_

_All souls living always be truthful_

_Here through Clow Reed’s land_

_Earth, sea, and all through the pearly white sand…_ ”

Once again, Syaoran shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t understand… I don’t understand any of all this…”

“Xiao, maybe your mother didn’t want you to just read the entire book. Maybe certain parts of these drabbles or poems or whatever you call them may be related to you somehow,” Eriol said. “Your mother stated, your sisters stated, even your therapist stated that you almost have your past memories restored and somehow Tomoeda is definitely connected to your life somehow.”

“Let me borrow this really quick.” Meiling gently took the old book from Eriol and she began flipping the pages back to the table of contents.

“How can an old book and that pink stuffed bear got something to do with me?” Syaoran shook his head, displaying a discontented expression. “Why can’t my family try to just tell me straight out? They’re making things a whole lot more complicated for me.”

“Xiao, they already tried but nothing’s triggering,” Eriol reminded him. They all felt that maybe by actually be in the place where your memories were created would help trigger your mind in to restoring these lost memories naturally.

Just as they were about to continue with the conversation, the fourth main cast member, Mai Hirashiki, appeared at their area, calling out their names.

“We’re going now! The director said!”

“Already?” Meiling looked up as she gently closed the book. “They fixed the second bus?” She and the two male idols stood up and approached Mai Hirashiki, who shamelessly invited herself in to hooking her arm around Syaoran’s.

“Will you walk me to the bus, Xiaolang?” Mai giggled.

Syaoran slowly gave himself space between himself and this new co-star of his. “You already have my arm around mine so do I got a choice?”

“Aw, don’t be so mean now, be a gentleman, Xiaolang-kun!”

“It’s Li to you, Hirashiki,” Syaoran glared. He followed Eriol and Meiling from behind until they reached the buses.

Once they got there, the director, Yoshiyuki Terada, whistled everyone to gather around the front of the first bus. “Alright. It’s almost dark and we only got fifteen minute drive to Tomoeda. The first bus has enough gas to move forward but eventually it’ll be empty. So, the heads and I decided to do this. For now, we will have to split in to two groups: one who will be in town and the rest will stay here with the buses.”

“Eh?” Random commotion broke amongst one another as Syaoran hushed everyone.

“Everyone be quiet! Let the man talk!” Eventually, silence fell as Terada was able to continue.

“Those who will be going to town will have to walk from here. The ones in town will ask someone there to help us tow the buses to town so they can be gassed and repaired. In that way, there won’t be any nosy media accidentally spotting our buses being broken down and then hound us immediately with all their annoying questions. Remember, the media knows that we’ll be heading to Tomoeda this weekend and not today, so we have to keep that promise.”

Eriol raised his hand. “Yes, Eriol?”

“Terada-san, how long is the distance from here to Tomoeda?”

“By foot, I would say thirty minutes? It’ll only be a fifteen minute drive if we rode through bus, but because the first bus is almost out of gas and the second one… well you know already… it’s best that if some of us would be willing to walk a long distance to get to town so we can get some help here so we can all have room and board for tonight at Tomoeda.”

The others made their own commotion once again as Syaoran hushed everyone once more.

“Alright,” Terada continued. “Now, for those who are willing to walk a long distance from here, I would like to see hands. Those who can’t stand walking, well, stay here.”

Mai immediately turned to Syaoran. “We can just stay here and you know… keep ourselves company in this rather chilly late afternoon—”

Just as Mai was about to finish her statement, the chestnut-haired cutie raised his hand. “I’ll go.”

“Eh?” Many of the other cast members gasped in shock to see that their leading actor would be willing to trek down the road to reach Tomoeda.

Adding to Syaoran’s volunteering, Eriol and Meiling also raised their hands. “Walking thirty minutes from here is nothing,” Eriol said. “I’ll go with Syaoran to town.”

“Me too!” Meiling said. “All three of us have run four miles around the track before as part of our training, so walking for thirty minutes is peanuts to us. No problem!”

Syaoran’s manager and butler, Wei, also raised his hand. “They would need adult supervision when they get there, therefore I too volunteer. I’ll keep watch of our three young stars here.”

Mai frowned in disappointment and turned to Syaoran. “Why, Xiao— I mean Li-kun? I mean… it’s dangerous and scary out there with no people or buildings around and…”

“You said you wanted to walk with me, ne?” Syaoran snickered towards the demanding teen actress. “Would you be willing to walk with me to Tomoeda for thirty minutes?” The girl quickly shook her head and slightly backed away from him. “Heh. Thought so.”

“Alright then. We’ll be heading off!” Terada said as he walked ahead, standing next to Wei.

“Oh?” Eriol blinked. “You’re going with us to, Terada-san?”

“But of course, Eriol! I can’t stand staying here in one place when there’s no civilization. I’ll be walking along with you kids.”

With that, Syaoran, Eriol, Meiling, Wei, and Director Terada bade farewell to the rest of the cast and crew remaining at the buses for the time being. They began their long secret trek down the road to reach their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone of you read books by many Latin American writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Paulo Coelho? Many of them have one thing in common: magical realism. I'm a fan of magical realism themes and I try to incorporate that with _Stuffed Animal_ and the rest of the stories under the _Love According to the Book of Keroberos_ umbrella (Troop Pegalion and possibly future stories). Although this is an alternate universe fanfic where there's basically no magic involved whatsoever, the magical creatures mentioned such as Keroberos and Clow Reed will be mentioned a lot in these stories (and, a possible brief appearance of any one of them even). I'm no Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Paulo Coelho, but I thought it would be an interesting theme to add alongside with the typical feel-good rom-coms such as this, don't you think? Hope you enjoy. Feedback, comments, suggestions, always welcome!


	4. A Night Berry Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Card Captor Sakura © CLAMP/Kodansha. The only thing I own here is this fanfic's plot and whatever original characters I may create here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura, Tomoyo, Takashi Yamazaki, and another friend who just arrived from a writer's retreat trip, Naoko Yanagisawa, were assigned to do harvesting duty for one of Tomoeda's indigenous crops known as the Night Berry. During their harvesting, their pushcart was stolen and the four friends run after the thieves, catching Sakura in a trap with the one her brother got into a brawl on in public earlier today. Meanwhile, exhausted and impatient, teen idols Li Xiaolang (still not remembering as Syaoran Li), Eriol Hiiragizawa, Meiling Li, Syaoran's manager and servant, Wei Wang, and movie director Yoshiyuki Terada, got separated from each other due to the lack of lighting, leaving Syaoran all by himself. While trying to find his way through, an accident came when Sakura bumped literally into his arms, asking him to save her from the very enraged suitor she was trying to get away from. Regardless of the amnesia, popular teen idol Li Xiaolang finds himself captured and drawn into her bright emerald eyes and then used this to his advantage to find his way back to Tomoeda. Eventually reuniting with Eriol, Meiling, Wei, and Director Terada, Sakura and her friends finally lead them back to Tomoeda, in which Syaoran begins to sense a very strong familiarity with the town, its locals, and most of all, Sakura. At the end of the harvest, Syaoran entrusts his life and security to both Sakura and Yamazaki, even promising the latter to not reveal to his girlfriend, Wolfpups Fanclub president Chiharu Mihara, of his "new" relationship with him.

One of Tomoeda’s indigenous treasures is the night berry. Night berries are one of Tomoeda’s staple fruits known for their naturally sweet and tender flesh and its juice simply burst with a lot of flavor, perfect for desserts, ice cream, beverages, and in some cases can be used for local stews. Night berries are white with a star-shaped burgundy red bottom and because of the purity of its white color, are almost invisible to the naked eye when faced against the sun. During harvest, night berries are openly visible, glow in the dark, at the night sky. In addition as to why nighttime was the best time to harvest them was also because it would be easy to determine the difference between the edible red-starred night berries from the poisonous dark purple-starred night berries. During daytime, the star marks are invisible to the naked eye.

All the harvester needed to do was to look at the color of the star-shaped mark underneath the fruit. If the mark is deep burgundy red, that would be the edible one. If the mark is dark purple, almost mistakenly for black, that would be the poisonous kind. The poisonous night berries are useful also, but obviously not edible. They are used by the town folks to poison any type of vermin that tried to invade and destroy their farm crops.

Every single Tomoeda folk were being trained to harvest night berries. Every night, it was the duty of each Tomoeda resident to go out to the fields near the entrance to harvest the edible night berries ready to be eaten raw, as well as used in their delectable dishes. At the town’s bulletin board was the official schedule of the residents, by family name, scheduled to harvest night berries for their household and even for their businesses they support, such as the Tomoeda fruit stand and of course, Mooncastle Diner.

Tonight on the schedule board, the names appeared: Atsushi, Chinatsu, Daidouji, Kinomoto, Yamazaki, and Yanagisawa. Sakura and Tomoyo stood right in front of the bulletin board to see their family names mentioned for tonight’s routine night berry harvest.

“Dad will be working late at the university today for his second doctoral thesis,” Sakura murmured. “And Oniichan has the night shift at the Mooncastle Diner tonight. Guess I’ll be harvesting alone tonight.”

“No worries. I’ll be harvesting alone too,” Naoko Yanagisawa, their bookworm friend, sneaked behind them, surprising them with her appearance.

“Naoko!” Sakura and Tomoyo embraced their bespectacled friend excitedly. Naoko had been away on a writer’s retreat trip for the last three days and revealed that she recently came home earlier in the afternoon.

“I miss you girls!” Naoko chuckled. “Say, I heard about this whole hoopla going on with the Wolfpups and the Moonies. Is it really true?”

“You better believe it, Naoko!” Tomoyo chuckled. “The news said they’ll be arriving here this weekend, but actually, they’ll be arriving here tomorrow. There’ll be a press conference tomorrow along with a special performance from yours truly!” She then placed her arm around her best friend, indicating to Naoko about their local band, Cool Rascals.

“Wow! I can’t wait! I’ll be sure to be there at the press conference! Here’s my opportunity to write stories and articles for the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog! This is gonna be so awesome!” The three girls jumped happily, showing their enthusiasm for the upcoming events to come.

“Well, anyway,” Sakura laughed. “Looks like the night berry patrol just arrived with the baskets. Time to pick some delicious night berries!”

As the girls approached the patrol booth to gather their baskets, Takashi Yamazaki, their friend Chiharu’s boyfriend and the Cool Rascals lead guitarist, caught up to them. “Wait for me, ladies!”

“Hey there, Yamazaki,” Tomoyo chuckled. “So, did you get to meet up with Chiharu?”

Yamazaki sighed. “I did… but all she talked about was Li Xiaolang this and Li Xiaolang that. Seriously, I know he’s a popular teen action martial arts actor but seriously… what’s so good about him?”

They finally grabbed their baskets and were now heading out to the fields. The sun finally disappeared and darkness was about to arrive. This was definitely the perfect time to find the right kind of night berries for tonight’s harvest.

“Don’t be jealous now, Yamazaki,” Naoko snickered. “She’s the president of Club Wolfpups, the official Li Xiaolang Fanclub. Of course, she’d be so excited that her idol will be arriving here at our beautiful town!”

“Did you know that Li Xiaolang has a hidden evil side of him?” Yamazaki suddenly began bursting out random statements.

“What evil side?” Naoko raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be making up stories about people you don’t know.”

“Sure, he’s currently dating Meiling Li, but whenever she’s not around, he actually likes to flirt with random pretty girls that he spots from afar—”

“Huh?” Sakura blinked. “But… but that can’t be true, can it…?”

“Oh Yamazaki,” Tomoyo chuckled. “You’re so cute when you’re jealous… but it’s really bad that you make up false stories about famous people like Li Xiaolang.”

“He… doesn’t seem like a flirt to me based on what I read in the magazine earlier,” Sakura said. “Well, we’ll never know what type of person he’s like until we meet him, ne?”

“But get a load of this, guys,” Tomoyo immediately gave a snicker. “Sakura seriously have fallen head over heels on Li Xiaolang the first time she’s seen him on the cover of the Li Xiaolang special edition of the _Swag Starlets Magazine_!”

“Am not, Tomoyo!” Sakura frowned. “I… I just like his eyes, that’s all…”

“His eyes, right,” Tomoyo winked. “If you only like his eyes, then why did you insist on keeping the Li Xiaolang edition to yourself, hm?”

“It was your idea, Tomoyo! You’re the one who said you’d keep the Eriol Hiiragizawa edition.”

“You could’ve said no…”

“You tricked me, Tomoyo!” Sakura pouted as Naoko laughed.

“Oh come on now, Sakura, there’s no denying it,” Naoko said. “Li Xiaolang is drop dead gorgeous… even I’ve fallen for him too, and I’m not even a fan of action martial arts teen movies!”

“Waah!” Yamazaki screamed. “Don’t tell me you girls also started falling for him too! Now I’ll lose Chiharu once he arrives here…”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Yamazaki; that’s not gonna happen,” Naoko rolled her eyes. “Calm down, okay?”

Once they got to the fields outside the main entrance, the harvest group easily found the night berry bushes, where they spotted the glow-in-the-dark fruits with the deep red star mark underneath the berries. They approached the area where there were the most fruit. Good thing that the red-starred berries were separated from the poisonous dark purple-starred berries at this point and that they can stay in one place rather than going on both sides of the main street leading in and out of town.

The teens began gathering their share of the night berries when Yamazaki brought up the subject of the Cool Rascals’ rehearsal at Tomoyo’s house earlier. “Daidouji, why on earth are we going to perform depressing breakup songs for tomorrow?”

“They’re not depressing, they’re upbeat,” Sakura protested.

“Well sure they sound upbeat but the words are just depressing. I don’t want to be reminded of breakups…”

Tomoyo sighed while she examined the night berries in front of her. “Are you still going on about that? Chiharu is very devoted to you, you know that. Besides, idols need level-headed presidents like Chiharu to run their fanclubs. In that way, they can keep the rabid fangirls under control.”

“Well… okay… I know that bit, but… I’m a bit scared that she might invite Li Xiaolang to like… sleep over at her house or something for the time being. You know it’s dangerous to have boys sleeping over at a girl’s house during their stay like that…”

“Yamazaki sure does love Chiharu, ne?” Sakura gave a soft chuckle. “I’m happy that there are still devoted and caring guys like Yamazaki existing here in Tomoeda. I really do think Tomoeda’s running out of good guys, you know?”

“You’re telling me,” Naoko said. “I actually hoped I’d meet a cute boy during my writer’s retreat trip but all the nice guys at the retreat all have girlfriends already. Well, there was one cute guy I met but he was a major player, flirting around the prettier writer girls. I can’t deal with guys like that.”

“I wish my mom would stop setting me up with spoiled rich brats,” Tomoyo sighed. “I mean, I can date any guy regardless if they’re wealthy or not, as long as they love me for me…”

“I just wish my dad would stop setting me up with any guy at all,” Sakura sighed along. “I’ve told Dad many times that I’m completely dedicated to Syaoran Li… I’ll be glad to die an old maid if I have to if I don’t succeed in seeing and reuniting with my little wolf.”

“Wow, such dedication, Sakura,” Naoko gasped. “I don’t think my patience can last that long at all, especially when it comes to boys.”

Interrupting their conversation, two of the night berry patrol members came by with a pushcart where the berry-filled baskets may be placed. There were empty baskets also in the pushcart so they may use them to harvest more berries.

“The pushcart’s here, kids!” The adult male called for them.

“And there’s a lot more empty baskets here,” the adult female standing next to the male added.

“Thanks, Mr. Atsushi, Mrs. Chinatsu!” The teens acknowledged them with their thanks as the two adults headed back into town. The teens brought their berry-filled baskets into the pushcart, grabbed the empty baskets, and then headed back to their night berry picking.

“Hm, that reminds me,” Yamazaki broke his silence. “I didn’t want to tell Chiharu this, but there are at times that I do take a peek at all of her collection of rare and new Li Xiaolang pics never before seen on magazines or on TV or on the ads. He reminds me of someone…”

“Me too, Taka!” Sakura exclaimed. “He has this beautiful, alluring, deep, and hypnotizing deep amber eyes…”

“Hey, you noticed that too, Kinomoto?” Yamazaki became curious. “That’s the first thing I noticed about him too! Those deep red eyes that look like it's ready to hunt its prey like a wolf, you know? Reminds me a lot of Syao-chan…”

“Then… you haven’t forgotten about Syaoran also, Taka?”

Yamazaki stood up from his berry picking to place his newly-picked night berries in his basket. “Of course I haven’t forgotten about him, Sakura. He’s my best friend and I’m currently living in the house he and his family used to live in seven years ago.”

“I can’t believe he’s not keeping in touch with us anymore… I hope his life back home in Hong Kong is a whole lot better than living in this very quiet, very secluded little town…”

“Maybe he got busy or something… or maybe he lost our contact info, like address and phone number, you know?”

Sakura shook her head as she reached for her basket to collect her night berries. “No way. I received a few letters from him two weeks right after they moved out. And then about two months later or so, all of my letters kept returning back to me with stamps saying no such person or no such address. It really broke my heart and cried for so many days because of it. Dad even tried finding the Lis himself when he was invited as a guest lecturer at the University of Hong Kong many times but… no luck…”

“Same with me,” Yamazaki said. “He wrote me letters too for the first two months…” He trailed immediately when he came to a realization. “Hey, Kinomoto…”

“Hm? What is it, Taka?”

“You said… he stopped writing to you two months after he moved out…?”

“Yeah. He did.”

“Weird… he stopped writing letters to me around that time too.”

Sakura swallowed nervously. “What if… what if something really bad happened to him…?” At this point she found herself shaking with worry, thinking of what her long-lost love Syaoran’s fate might have been that made him stop writing to them after two months of being gone from Tomoeda.

Tomoyo moved from her spot and headed to where Sakura was sitting down. “Ah, Sakura, don’t think of things like that! Remember the wise words from The Book of Keroberos. He has your stuffed animal. As long as he has it, he’ll always be protected from harm. Come on now…”

“Are you sure, Tomoyo?” Sakura gave a faint smile.

“Positive.” Tomoyo grinned, placing her arm around her best friend. “I know how we can lighten the mood up!”

Naoko arrived at their spot to grab more of the night berries. “Why don’t you guys sing a song? You two always sounded so good and so heavenly when you guys sing a duet! Come on Tomoyo, Sakura.”

Tomoyo giggled. “How about it, Sakura?”

At first, Sakura was hesitant, still not confident with her singing voice. She knew that she would only sounded really good if she and Tomoyo were singing together in a duet. She already received Tomoyo’s special solo song for her earlier today and she still had no confidence with singing that particular song along. But just for this night, plus it was only Naoko and Yamazaki present anyway, she decided to surrender.

“Okay, sure thing, Tomoyo.”

“Let’s sing a capella on the song we did earlier.”

Yamazaki’s eyes widened. “Oh come on… not another breakup song, please…”

Despite his complaints, he was flatly ignored when Tomoyo began to snap her fingers to simulate the beat of the song. Simultaneously, the two best friends began to sing duet:

_You cheated, you lied_

_You said that you love me_

_You cheated, you lied_

_You said that you want me_

_Oh what can I do_

_But just keep on loving you_

 

Yamazaki frowned once more. “Oh you gotta be kidding me. Come on now Daidouji, Kinomoto…” Still, the girls continued on with their duet.

 

_Love is something you know nothing about_

_Love is something you can’t throw about_

_So please try to love me_

_Love me like I love you_

 

“Daidouji… Kinomoto… you’re gonna remind me of my soon-to-be breakup with my Chiharu… please sing something happy…”

 

_Oh please try to love me_

_Love me like I love you_

 

“Please… change the song… I beg of you girls…”

 

_You cheated, you lied_

_You said that you love me_

_You cheated, you lied_

_You said that you want me_

_Oh what can I do?_

_Oh what can I do?_

_Oh what can I do?_

 

As their short song ended, Naoko cheered and applauded with delight. “Waah, you girls sounded so good as always! You two should be a duo in the J-Pop business. You girls are so gonna rock if you do!”

“Nah, just a way for us to serve the wonderful community of Tomoeda, that’s all,” Tomoyo smirked. “Ne, Sakura?”

“Sure thing!” Sakura gave a sheepish grin. “Let’s sing another one, Tomoyo!”

Yamazaki interrupted again. “How about that song that Daidouji just gave you, Kinomoto? I’ll sing along with you guys since I sing back vocals too, right?”

“But… I haven’t memorized the entire song yet…” Sakura made her excuse. “I don’t want to sing my song all tone-deaf and all that…”

“Well, here’s a good time to practice, Sakura, what else?” Tomoyo giggled, nudging her on the shoulder. “Come on now, you’ll have to perform this tomorrow in front of a lot of people, most especially with Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa!”

“Hoe…” Sakura suddenly dropped her head with a huge sigh. “I… I’m gonna mess up… that’s for sure…”

“That’s why we’ll be singing it together. It’s not so we can have a lively mood on our nighttime harvest picking or to entertain our dear bookworm friend Naoko, but to also practice, right?”

Just as Sakura was about to answer, they heard some trembling noise behind them. They turned to their backs to see what was making all that racket and spotted two individuals pushing their night berry pushcart away from them, leading out of the Tomoeda vicinity. The four stood up and then shouted and ran after them.

“”Hey! That’s our pushcart— get back here, you thieves!” Even though they shouted as fast as they can, the pushcart thieves ignored them and continued their escape.

Sakura then turned to her friends. “Tomoyo, you go and get Mr. Atsushi and Mrs. Chinatsu. Naoko, you stay here with our baskets. Tak and I are gonna go right after the thieves.”

“But Sakura, isn’t that dangerous?” Tomoyo cried her concerns.

“Don’t worry, Daidouji,” Yamazaki said. “Kinomoto is the fastest runner among the girls in town, remember? I’m gonna be with her.”

“Okay. Be careful, guys,” Naoko warned them. The group then split up to their duties. Tomoyo headed back to town to call for help, while Sakura and Yamazaki began dashing right after the thieves, but not before Sakura grabbed a few pebbles on the ground near the main road while they were at it.

 

#

 

“Are we there yet, Director Terada…?”

Meiling muttered in exhaustion while being carried into a piggy back ride by the tall and broad-shouldered Director Yoshiyuki Terada. It seems the long walk from their buses to Tomoeda took whatever energy she had left. Just fifteen minutes right after they left their camp, she felt immense pain on her left foot that she couldn’t walk anymore. Syaoran, Eriol, and Wei, who both took supplemental First Aid classes during their idol training at their agency, examined Meiling’s foot to see if she twisted her ankle or something else. It turned out that she wore the wrong pair of shoes and that she earned a few blisters instead. Because they neglected to bring any First Aid kit, they settled in taking turns giving Meiling a piggy back until they reached Tomoeda.

Syaoran was the first to carry her. Five minutes later, Eriol took his turn. Tonight was Terada’s turn.

“How are you feeling, Meiling?” Eriol asked her with concern.

“I feel a little relaxed, but I really don’t want to walk with these blisters on my foot. I should have worn my sneakers instead…” Meiling sighed.

Just as Eriol was about to continue, they noticed Syaoran halting from his trek. They thought that he too may became exhausted as well at this point that Wei suggested that they take another rest. Instead, Syaoran shook his head.

“Hang in there, Meiling, we’re almost there,” Syaoran said. “Just a little more…”

“How do you know that, Xiaolang? I mean, we’ve been walking on this same road as if we weren’t even moving forward… you know?”

Syaoran turned to her and gave a confident smile. “I’m sure of it. I can sense it…. Somehow…”

“You can sense we’re nearby, Master Li?” Wei asked curiously.

“Just a few more… just a little more… we’ll be there…”

“Lead the way, Xiao,” Eriol shrugged. Syaoran proceeded as the others followed him from behind.

He couldn’t exactly tell the others of this very strange and familiar aura suddenly coming over him. He also wondered how this inner phenomenon happened to him but ever since they began their long trek on foot and how all of a sudden the atmosphere and the environment around him now became so familiar to him. It was if he had been to this scenery before. He decided to ignore this strange aura and continued on the long walk.

Even as he kept his pace, the more he moved forward, the more the familiar visions coming on to his mind until everything became crystal clear. No doubt, the voice inside him spoke. He had been in this place before. In fact, it was one of those secluded, mysterious places that only those who dwell within these grounds would know the way here and about without even looking for any specific landmarks for them to remember. By that time, he finally got his clear picture, the faster he walked.

“Xiao, you’re walking too fast right there, lad! Wait right there!” Eriol called out for him, but Syaoran was so entranced by this aura of familiarity that his best friend’s voice was nothing but a faint sound carried on by the breezy night wind. At this point, he was no longer aware that he was all alone, leaving his two fellow idol friends, his manager and butler, and the movie director far behind.

As the aura continued to surround his soul with so much familiarity as if it was welcoming him to this land, another strong force jolted within him. It was then that he stopped with his speed walking and then gazed all around and about to see what was about to happen at this point.

_Someone’s coming… coming fast…_

Syaoran prepared himself for this upcoming new force. He kept his eyes and ears open and kept his guard up. Or so he thought.

“Who are you…?” he muttered softly to himself as he kept his amber eyes shifty in all directions, just like how a hungry wolf would be searching for its prey.

Just as he thought that he kept his guard up, an unfamiliar presence immediately rushed right at him. Before he even realized it, he found another human being with palms flat against his upper chest. All this human being could mutter to him was:

“Help… please, help me… I’m being chased…”

Syaoran quickly pushed her away but not abrupt enough for this figure to fall down on her back. He then found his hands on to her waist. “Hold on, wait a minute—” Once he took a good look at the one who simply ran to him, his eyes spotted the others of the other.

Eyes like emeralds. No. It’s gotta be jade. Well, whatever it may be, they’re green— his favorite color and green looked so good on this girl. Not only that, the red that was blushing on to the troubled girl’s cheeks somehow complimented her pure, innocent beauty. His heart began to beat rapidly.

A brown bob haircut with loose tassels on the side; not quite his style in his ideal girl, and yet, goodness, she was not just a girl. She appeared to him as an angel from above, lost and looking for her way back home. Something inside him even reminded him that her home even meant in his arms.

_No, no, this isn't you, Xiaolang. You're usually cool and indifferent when it comes to girls... And yet... we have this one who just ran into my arms..._

“Hurry, please… he’s coming…” she begged with so much fear in her eyes.

“Oh, Sakura Kinomoto! Come out, come out, wherever you are! Come to Papa! Come on now, I just wanna talk to you!” Another intimidating-sounding male voice called out towards their direction.

 _Sakura...?_ Syaoran closed his eyes, trying to clear all these voices in his head.  _Get yourself together, Xiaolang. This isn't you, man!_

“Please…” The green-eyed girl quickly hid behind him. Syaoran knew that he just walked himself into trouble. If this were a fangirl who only acted as if she was some kind of a damsel in distress he would normally just ignore her. But after hearing that voice out for a kill, plus his entire movie cast and crew are already lost in the middle, he could simply help her in exchange for aid.

Plus, that sweet, melodic voice of hers, as if she was singing to him. Who wouldn't want to say no to a uniquely beautiful young girl with a singing voice like that? Certainly not hot and gorgeous popular teen idol Li Xiaolang, that's who.

“If I help you,” Syaoran whispered, “will you help me in return?”

“A-anything… just… get that guy away from me… please…”

Before anyone knew it, the hunter already arrived. Sakura quickly released herself from the mysterious handsome amber-eyed young man and hid behind him.

“Well well, look at what we got here,” the tall and slightly skinny young man, almost the same height as Syaoran, gave his threatening tone.

“I… I have nothing to do with you anymore, Sakamoto, so please, go away and leave me alone!” Sakura protested while hiding behind Syaoran.

 _Who the hell does this loser think he is?_ That did him right there. He never gets involved in anything that doesn't involve him, but to pick on a troubled young lady like Sakura Kinomoto, that's a whole different story.

At this moment, Syaoran finally found an opening to get himself in this situation. “Is there a problem here…?”

The young man pointed right towards his and Sakura’s direction. “I searched all over town and I can’t find that turd-faced punk-ass brother of yours, Sakura, so I’m gonna have to deal with you now as revenge!”

“Revenge?” Sakura cried. “Against my brother? What on earth did he do to you?”

“Ahem,” Syaoran interrupted again once more, restraining himself from breaking into laughter. “Who the hell is this idiot?”  _No, seriously. Who the hell is this idiot?_

Sakura quickly replied: “He’s Takuya Sakamoto… he... was… one of my suitors…”

_Suitors? You've gotta be kidding me. They got suitors around this area? Do they live like in Ancient Japan or something?_

“Ha! I ain't really after you, girlie, I’m right after that punk-ass turd who did this to my face!” He pointed right at his bandaged face. “But then again…”

“Hold up, hold up,” Syaoran gave a slight smirk on his face. “So, dude, are you saying that her brother kicked your ass real good and because of that, you wanted revenge?”

Sakura's eyes open wide when she noticed a distinctive feature in this young stranger's voice.  _I've never seen this guy before, but... he speaks with a Tomoedan accent?_

She wasn't the only one who noticed that distinctive feature as well.  _Weird... since when did I start talking Japanese the same way this idiot does right now?_

Sakura whispered to him. “He… he and my brother got into a fight yesterday… all because he and his friends humiliated me at our supposed dinner date because I have a habit of consoling on my favorite stuffed toy… he couldn’t find my brother anywhere so he and another friend of his tried to lure him out by stealing our pushcart filled with night berries… my friend and I came after them, and I ended up throwing a pebble on his head… and then… he saw me as the culprit and he started chasing after me… I didn’t know about the entire fight until just now, please believe me…”

 _How can I believe you? I don’t even know you…_ Syaoran’s voice spoke in his mind. _But somehow… the way you clung on to me… your small hands on my chest… why am I liking it?_ He decided to ignore that thought and focus on the current situation.

“So, you can’t get your revenge on her brother and now you’re going after her instead? I figured that you're a moron, but you're a whiny little coward too? Oh damn!”

Takuya’s eyes widened with a huge shock on his face. “The hell did you say? Just who the hell are you anyway? Get out of my way if you know what’s good for you!”

Syaoran turned to Sakura, who was now rolled herself into a ball with her face hiding and crying in fear. Since everything was going by fast, there was no time to prod for more questions on things he shouldn’t be involved with.

“And if I refuse?” Syaoran asked curiously, but now his guard is back up again.

“Then I guess you’ll have to suffer the same misery as I am right now—” Immediately, Takuya dashed full-speed towards Syaoran, but with a gentle movement, the teen idol stepped aside just a few inches from the mad boy’s fist. Takuya found himself eating dust on the road.

“Too slow, yo!” Syaoran smirked. “Get up.”

Takuya quickly got up, still with the rage on his face. “Why you— you’re gonna pay for that!”

Syaoran broke into laughter. “You idiot, I haven’t even laid a finger on you and you’re already munching on dust!”

“Butt out, pretty boy, this ain’t your business! I just want the girl and you’re free, got that?”

“Heh,” Syaoran snickered, slowly removing his backpack and then taking off his olive green blazer, revealing a black sleeveless cotton tank top, showing off his perfectly contoured muscles. He placed his backpack aside and then placed his blazer around Sakura. “Hang on to this, will you?”

“Y-you don’t have to do this…” Sakura warned him as she held his jacket tightly around her to keep herself warm from the cool breeze. “You’re gonna get hurt easily! Takuya Sakamoto is one of the strongest fighters around and—”

“Is he? Seriously?" Boy, he couldn't help himself now at this point. He had never had this much fun for the longest time, and since there were no media or paparazzi snooping around the woods, he felt a lot more free and can be himself.

"He's one of the champions in our high school Judo team--"

"Just stand back,” Syaoran simply winked at her. “He’ll go down in a few seconds without me laying a finger on him.”

“But…”

Takuya overheard the rather cocky tone from Syaoran’s tone and he began to approach him again with full speed. “You bastard! You don’t know who you’re messin’ with! I’m the most feared hot guy all of Tomoeda has ever seen! Now you’re gonna get it!”

Just as the teen idol expected, Takuya was using all his might and energy to throw a series of random fists and kicks. Thanks to his lifetime martial arts training and discipline, Syaoran was able to read every single of his attempts and simply dodged them with his precise body movement. Takuya hasn't touched Syaoran from his attempts, and Syaoran himself had no intention of touching the pig-headed fool either.

While Sakura witnessed the hit and miss match between the boy who humiliated her two nights ago and the stranger who offered to help her, she couldn’t help but notice the form, movement, build, and the facial expression of the stranger. Her heart began to beat rapidly again with thoughts flowing through her mind.

_Syaoran… is that you…? Look how fast and precise you move…_

No way, she thought. She placed one hand on her chest to calm down her rapid beating. _Am I… seeing things…?_

Some three minutes later, Takuya found himself out of energy and ended up collapsing on the ground, breathing heavily. No matter how much he combined all of his best moves to take any opponent down to their knees, he was unable to touch the stranger who protected Sakura from his clutches. If this stranger were even able to dodge all of his best moves and combinations, he wouldn’t even want to imagine how he would be like if he were going for the counterattack. Because of the dark sky, he couldn’t get a clearer look at his face, but he knew one thing. This was a stranger he would not even want to mess with, even for a burly-minded guy like him.

“Get up,” Syaoran commanded him, this time, his cocky expression turned into the wolf-like hunter mode. Takuya reluctantly followed him, knowing he did not have enough energy to stand up against him. Once he was finally on his feet, Syaoran didn’t end it there.

“If I see you aiming at her again— even with just one look— you better start saying your prayers because you’ll never know who would be tapping on your back shoulder.”

Takuya could not say any more words to throw right at him at this point. Rather, he gave him a glare instead. He did find an opportunity to lighten things up in this scenario. “A little warning, buddy.” He began. “That girl you’re protecting? She’s nothing but a little goody- too- shoes little baby who still clings to her teddy bear thinking it’ll transform in to her very own prince or something, heh. Who on earth would want a girl who prioritizes stuffed toys over real men? She’d dump you instantly before you can even confess to her!”

“So?” Syaoran answered flatly. “You got a problem with that? Her teddy bear obviously has more manners than you.”

The pigheaded teen gritted his teeth, and without any more words to throw out, turned around and ran. Syaoran then turned to the girl, who was now standing up from her cowardly shivering. Once they faced each other, Sakura immediately fell right in to the richness of those amber eyes.

_Those eyes… they’re… they’re like Syaoran’s and… just like Li Xiaolang’s eyes from the magazine… and… why can’t my heart stop beating so fast…?_

As for Syaoran, those sparkling emerald eyes that can be converted to jade just by the movement of the moonlight entrapped him right on the spot. Without even aware of their surroundings, they found themselves drawing towards each other.

Closer… and closer… and closer… and…

“Oh no! I’m sorry!” From out of the blue, Sakura snapped back to reality and quickly backed away from the stranger who saved her from the heated clutches of her former suitor. “I… I’m sorry!” Quickly she bowed as low as she can to show how much she meant with her apology.

“H-huh?” Syaoran blinked and slowly approached her. “Wait… um…”

“I… I’m sorry I got you in to this mess! Forgive me!” Sakura exclaimed, still in that same bowing position. “I’ll… I’ll make it up to you… I-I mean, I’ll gladly repay you for saving me from Takuya Sakamoto…”

“Okay… calm down… relax…” Syaoran gently placed his hands on to her shoulders. Somehow with those hands, Sakura found herself getting relaxed, and him blushing at the same time. “I don’t particularly care what happened with that pea-brained dweeb there, but I do know that you’re in trouble, so… it’s natural that I should help you out.”

“And I… I… I really do thank you for that…” Sakura studdered nervously. “But I… I mean… I feel really bad that you had to go all the way into challenging him in to a fight. I mean he could’ve really killed you with those killer punches and kicks he’s got.”

Syaoran gave another smirk. “Oh?”

“I mean... my brother had quite a number of bruises on his arms and even on his face and…” Sakura slowly dropped her head. Right then, Syaoran couldn’t help himself but to fall for the unintentional humor from this girl and broke in to laughter.

“You’re funny. I needed the laugh!” The girl couldn’t respond in words at first. But in the end, she joined in the laughter.

“I’m sorry… It’s just that… I’ve never really… um… it’s very rare for me to encounter someone I’m not quite familiar with so…” Sakura flashed a shy grin, trying to refrain her heart from beating rapidly once more.

“By the way,” Syaoran interrupted. “That idiot you’re warning me about couldn’t even touch me, so I don’t see why I should be threatened of losers like him.” He then gave a wink at her. “Seems like fate has brought you to me, ne?”

Sakura gasped once she found her entire face completely flushed red. She then quickly covered her cheeks with her hands and then swallowed with nervousness. “W-well… um… you had me worried and… yeah!”

Syaoran chortled quietly again, then finally changed his tone. “Right. Your payment for saving you.”

“R-right.” Sakura swallowed again while she waited for him to respond.

“I heard that idiot say Tomoeda… perhaps you wouldn’t be from Tomoeda, are you?”

“I am,” Sakura nodded. “I can tell you’re not from around here yourself.”  _Despite his Tomoedan accent when he talked earlier, it's bad to assume he's a local. Not yet, anyway._

“Well… um…” Syaoran found himself scratching his head nervously. “I know I’m not from here, but… it feels like… I’ve been here before… I… I’m not sure if that makes sense…”

The green-eyed girl simply grinned. “I understand a bit… I think…” Quickly she turned her head and cleared her throat while Syaoran also ended up looking away from her. Still, both just couldn’t help themselves but to gaze at each other’s jeweled eyes once again.

“Sakura…” Syaoran murmured her name, feeling that this familiar aura surrounding his mind forced him to call out her name.

The girl stared at him in bewilderment. “H-how did you know my name?”

Syaoran blinked his eyes. “Oh… well… isn’t that what that loser called you before…?”

“Oh… that’s right…” Sakura sighed in relief, followed by a soft chuckle. “But that’s not fair… I don’t know your name…”

 _Oh good, she doesn't recognize me, but she's obviously not a fangirl, so I might as well introduce myself like a real gentleman._ “Well, I’m—”

“Well well, we finally caught up to you, Li Xiaolang!” Another voice interfered with this short one-on-one moment. The girl quickly backed away from him, realizing who she just ran in to, begged for help, and then protected her from the former suitor.

 _Li Xiaolang?! Oh my god... I... I just bumped in... to... no wonder... those eyes of his... Oh my god..._ She buried her face with her hands to hide her embarrasment.  _You're an idiot, Sakura. You didn't even recognize him and he just saved your life..._

Syaoran turned to see Eriol, Wei, Terada, and Meiling still on riding Terada’s back. “Ah. Eriol, Meiling. Wei and Terada-san.”

Just by hearing the names, Sakura continued to back away in fear. It wasn’t just the irresistible Li Xiaolang who just appeared right before her, but Eriol Hiiragizawa and Syaoran’s ex and fellow co-star Meiling Li also. Looking at herself in her standard gray white-flower print t-shirt, denim shorts, and dark blue canvas sneakers, she obviously did not look presentable enough to face them.

“First you take off away from us, Xiao, and now we find you flirting with a lovely local lass here?”

“Eriol, I wasn’t flirting!” Syaoran raised an eyebrow while glaring at his best friend, unaware that his face was blushing again.   _No, just staring at those beautiful, gorgeous green eyes is not flirting, Eriol._

Meiling giggled. “I have to admit that you and her do look cute together, Xiao!”

 _Hoe? She... she didn't say that... did she? Hoe..._ She knew she was a standout among the group of people in this scenario that she now has the urge to run away as far as I can.  _Me... and Li Xiaolang?_

“Shut up, Meiling!” Syaoran gave a second glare to the girl on the piggyback.

Eriol grinned and then turned to Sakura and bowed. “Lovely evening to you, Miss!” Sakura only returned with a grin, still completely stunned by the sudden arrival of the ones who wasn’t supposed to arrive in Tomoeda until tomorrow.

“Um, hello,” Sakura gave a shy nod and a bow.

Terada then stepped forward and turned to the nervous-racked girl. “Miss, you happen to be from Tomoeda, aren’t you?”

Sakura nodded quickly. “Y-yes, I am.”

“I was wondering if you could help us and—”

“Sakura, there you are!” Another interruption came when Sakura heard three familiar voices coming from behind her. She turned around and waved right at Tomoyo, Naoko, and Yamazaki already approaching. Once they finally arrived, Tomoyo quickly embraced her.

“Oh, we were so worried! I thought you got caught by that jerk Sakamoto and who knows what harm he may have done to you…” Tomoyo cried.

“I’m… I’m okay… I was saved… by… um…” Sakura found herself blushing again as she turned right towards Syaoran.

“Hey there,” Syaoran gave a slight wave. Once Tomoyo spotted him, she gave a loud shriek.

“Kyaaaaa!!!! Oh my god! Sakura! Am I hallucinating?!” She began to shake her best friend like a mad girl. "Sakura, oh my god, it's... it's... it's..."

All that Sakura could do is nod like a crazy fangirl with no words to say. Tomoyo then then turned her head right towards Syaoran. “Li Xiaolang, oh my god! Do you know who you think you are?”

“Huh, what?” Syaoran chuckled at Tomoyo's reaction. “Do I know who I am… what? I don’t think your Japanese makes any sense…”

“Gah! I mean… I mean…” Tomoyo quickly turned around to see Naoko already fainted under Yamazaki’s arms.

“They’re here… aren’t they…?” Yamazaki sighed, carrying the fainted Naoko with her. “I can’t believe we are looking at Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa in the flesh in the middle of a night berry harvest.” He then turned to the unconcious Naoko and began to wave his hand over her. "Oi, Yanagizawa, wake up, you!"

"Well then," Eriol smiled and turned to Syaoran, Meiling, and the other two showbiz adults. "It seems we have found our destination, don't you think? Welcome to Tomoeda, everyone!"

 

#

 

Moments later after this rather interesting meeting, the night berry harvesting group of the night, along with the three hot teen celebrities, Syaoran Li, alias Li Xiaolang, Eriol Hiiragizawa, and Meiling Li, arrived at the outskirts area where they were harvesting the night berries earlier. Before that, everything was cleared up by Terada regarding their reasons why they arrived a day early instead of tomorrow. Naoko gave the good news to Terada that her uncle owns a local auto repair shop and that she was sure that her uncle and his crew may be able to tow the buses from where they stopped all the way back in to town. Terada also informed the four teens that no one in town should know of their early arrival tonight and that they need to provide room and board for Syaoran, Eriol, and Meiling somewhere else other than the local Tomoeda Inn to keep them safe and secure from any nosy fans and any paparazzi nearby. As part of the Tomoeda hospitality, the four teens guaranteed them that they will keep silent about their early presence in town until the press conference tomorrow.

"This is my forever best friend, the ever-beautiful Tomoyo Daidouji," Sakura began introducing her friends to the idols.

"My, you're never more wrong about her being beautiful," Eriol grinned, gazing his eyes right at Tomoeda's princess.

"Good to meet you, and thank you for bringing us here safely," Syaoran greeted Tomoyo like any other stranger.

"Oh, anytime now," Tomoyo grinned, while shoving Sakura on the side and whispered. "Sakura, oh my gosh... I think Li Xiaolang is staring at you... aaaaah!"

"Tomoyo!" Sakura giggled, hushing her best friend. "This is our resident youth blogger of Tomoeda, Naoko Yanagizawa. She's a complete legit journalist who brings insight on who's who and what's what among today's Tomoeda Youth. She's a very, very respected journalist among these woods."

"My dear," Eriol spoke, "are you alright? You fainted right on sight!"

Naoko nodded, then spoke with a mousy voice. "I... I'm alright. R-really. I am."

"And this tall, handsome young man here with us is---"

"Takashi Yamazaki." Just as Sakura was about to mention their friends, Syaoran automatically identified the six-footer young man's name.

"Eh?" Yamazaki gasped. "H-how'd you know... my name?"

"Your girlfriend is the Tomoeda Branch president of the Wolfpups Fanclub, isn't she?"

The local boy still could not believe his ears. "But... that doesn't explain..."

Syaoran chuckled. "When my fanclub management was identifying all the branch presidents of my fanclub, your girlfriend, Chiharu Mihara, sent a profile photo of herself with you in it."

"H-he did?" He quickly turned to his three female friends. "Chi-chan... sent a couple photo of us... to the official fanclub....?"

"She must be a really good girl to be with. I mean, for her to submit a profile photo of herself with you in it tells me something, man. She may be a huge fan of me, but her heart belongs to you."

"Aww..." Tomoyo and Naoko gave their awws at their friend, with Sakura patting him on the shoulder.

"Um... yeah! Yeah, she's a good girl." Yamazaki smiled happily, now feeling a lot more pride than ever. On the other hand, his inner voice spoke to him of a realization.  _I know that Li Xiaolang is Chinese, but why is he speaking Japanese like a Tomoedan local? Weird. Must be hearing things._

Naoko excused herself and escorted Terada and Wei to his uncle’s repair shop in town. The three idols remained with the other three local teens at the night berry fields, where they continued to harvest more of these night berries. Meiling rested on the cool grass barefooted to rest her blister-filled foot and didn’t need to do some work. Instead, Sakura and Tomoyo gave her a small basket of freshly-picked night berries as their welcome gift. Syaoran and Eriol didn’t need to do anything but remain with Meiling, however for their hospitality, they decided to help out with the harvesting anyway.

“So, these are night berries, huh,” Eriol curiously gazed at a night berry he just picked from one of the bushes. “I’ve never seen a berry like this before.”

“Only grown in Tomoeda!” Tomoyo grinned. “It’s also Tomoeda tradition that we give a small basket of night berries to visitors as our welcome gift. Try one!”

“Really? Can I?”

“Yup! They’re lightly touched by the night dews and they make the berries tastes so much sweeter and gives a lot of flavor!”

“I shall,” Eriol smiled. He gazed at the berry he just picked and popped it in his mouth. He slowly chewed it to savor the juicy sweetness within. “Wow… this is… really refreshing…”

“They’re a perfect snack for the summer season. It cools you right inside of you instead of the other way around.”

“Ah, I see!” Eriol grabbed more of the berries from the basket and ate some more. “Who would have thought that the daughter of the great designer Sonomi Daidouji of the Daidouji Couture could be so…”

Tomoyo gazed right at the half-English idol with her amethyst eyes flashing right at him. “Could be so… what?”

“Um… well… small town…” The raven-haired beauty chuckled as her reaction.

“A small-town girl, I see,” Tomoyo chortled. “Fair enough, Hiiragizawa-kun.”

He took one berry from the basket and then offered it to Tomoyo. “For my gratitude…”

“For me?” Tomoyo giggled softly.

“Say aah!”

She couldn’t help but giggle but freely opened her mouth. “Aaaaah…” Eriol gently placed the berry inside her mouth as Tomoyo began chewing on the berry. “Delicious! Thank you!”

“Always welcome, my lady.”

Just a few feet from them, Meiling called out to them as she nibbled on the night berries endlessly. “Hey guys! Would it be okay if you could just give Xiaolang and Eriol two separate bowls of night berries for their welcome gifts instead of us three sharing one bowl? Because I’m about to finish this…”

Eriol raised an eyebrow and glared at the blistered girl. “Greedy!”

“Oh come on, Eriol, there’s plenty of night berries here. You’re already picking them!” Meiling stuck her tongue at him.

“Well, if you run out, Li-san,” Tomoyo called out, “we have more here if you like.”

“Eee! Please gimme some!” Meiling giggled happily. “Oh, and you can call me Meiling. You don’t want me and Xiaolang get mixed up since we have the same surname, ne?”

“Haha, alright then, Meiling!” Tomoyo grinned. She then turned to another area of the night berry bushes where she spotted Sakura, Yamazaki, and Syaoran picking the berries. “Hey you guys! How’s it going there?” Yamazaki and Sakura simply raised their hands and gave Tomoyo a thumbs up. “Great!”

In the meantime, Sakura, Yamazaki, and Syaoran continued on choosing and picking the best night berries when Yamazaki broke the awkward silence from one another. At the moment, due to Sakura’s extreme shyness around someone as famous as the strikingly handsome Li Xiaolang, Yamazaki sat between them.

“The Book of Keroberos may be puzzling, but everything written there is always true!” Yamazaki began the icebreaker.

“Oh?” Sakura asked curiously. “Why mention The Book of Keroberos, Taka?”

“Heh,” Yamazaki smirked, “just giving our guest Li Xiaolang a bit of an overview on how awesome our town is, even if it’s secluded from civilization and all.”

“I… I don’t think he would be interested in—”

“I’d like to hear more, Yamazaki-kun.” From out of the blue, Syaoran joined in the conversation. “I’m having a bit of a personal crisis right now and… this would definitely beat me thinking about it.”

 _Personal crisis?_ Yamazaki thought to himself.  _Wonder what he meant by that..._

“Oh… then… um… please, continue, Taka!” Sakura chuckled nervously.

“Okay. You see these night berries? According to The Book of Keroberos, the night berry can also be used as an aphrodisiac! It said that if a girl gives a guy night berries for the first time, they are definitely going to be destined to be together in the near future—”

“Eh?” Sakura blinked. “I don’t remember hearing _that_ in The Book of Keroberos. Are you making up stuff again?”

“Oh? But there’s just no way you can prove it. No Tomoedan folk would be able to memorize everything that’s written in The Book of Keroberos. A lot kept on ignoring the night berries section, you know.”

“So… it’s true then…?” Sakura blinked in confusion.

Syaoran gave a slight chuckle. “You two are hilarious.” He turned his head right towards Yamazaki. “You remind me so much of my very old childhood best friend.”

Yamazaki turned to face him. “Me?” Syaoran nodded. “How so?”

“Well... he had a penchant of making up these crazy stories that aren't crap, you know? I was pretty naive back then, and I believed everything he said. Seriously, he’d make a good fiction writer one day, you know?” Right then, he changed the tone and sighed, feeling the nostalgic aura surrounding him. “But... at the same time... he's also the one who taught me most of the Japanese I knew of when I was little, so I owe him a lot for that. I miss the guy… I really miss him…”

Yamazaki swallowed nervously. At first he thought that he wanted to be the real man by telling off someone as good-looking as Li Xiaolang of his love for Chiharu, but now it felt as if he was getting along way more with the teen star than his fanclub president would. “You know… speaking of familiarity…”

“Yeah?”

“Kinomoto here and I… well, there were four of us best friends. Me, Sakura, Daidouji, and one more who no longer lives here with us. I gotta admit you’ve got really intimidating, hypnotic red eyes. It’s like one look at your eyes and you know you’ll be dead on the spot. You know?”

“Uh, thanks… I think…” Syaoran gently scratched the side of his head with a finger.

“You have the eyes of a hunter, Li Xiaolang.”

“Am I really that scary?”

“Well, it’s a compliment, Li-kun. Your deep red eyes really remind us of our long-lost childhood friend, you know? He was always silent most of the time but we got along with him really well.” While Sakura was busy picking up more berries, Yamazaki leaned over to him. “He’s the one Sakura is deeply in love with, you know.”

“Ah…” Syaoran gave a surprising gasp. It wasn’t because he was shocked to hear that Sakura was in love with a certain guy in general, but because that same aura of familiarity he had been experiencing while they were walking on the road returned to him again. That aura also made his heart beat fast once more. “So… she has a long-lost love…”

Yamazaki nodded. “We have this… tradition… guys are mostly free and can date whoever they wanna date, but as for the girl… when she turns fifteen—”

“What?” Syaoran gave another curious look. “Are you saying that when a girl turns fifteen, she has to find a man or else her family is going to set her up with some random guy potential to be her future husband or something like that?”

Yamazaki then gave a gasp. “Wait… how did you… how did you know that, Li?”

Syaoran simply shrugged his shoulders. “Just… a… lucky guess…?”

“Well, Sakura is seventeen now and she still hasn’t found the right guy. In fact she even refused to be with anyone—”

“What about your other friend who no longer lives here? You said she loves him, right? What happened to him?” Right then, a quick realization came to him. Knowing himself, he couldn’t care less about the problems of common people at all, knowing he has his own life and his own world to deal with. But somehow, why did he care about this stranger town girl Sakura in just an hour and a half?

_Why would I care about all this? They don’t mean anything to me… she doesn’t mean anything to me… but…_

He turned around to find Sakura, who still continued to pick berries. She then turned her head towards his direction and then gave a shy smile. He returned the smile with his own along with a wave. At that moment, that same aura came to him again, and this time, not only that it’s making his heart beat so rapidly, but he felt this powerful warmth within him for her.

_God, help me… how can she have such beautiful emerald eyes? It’s killing me inside…_

Just before Yamazaki becomes suspicious of his reactions, he shook everything off and turned back to him. “Well… does that explain… the guy she was being chased earlier? What’s his name… Sakamoto or something?”

“So, you already know about her situation,” Yamazaki sighed. “That bastard was so hell-bent for her brother, who literally beat the crap out of him in public yesterday for humiliating Sakura on their dinner date.”

“Was that about some stuffed animal she was clinging to?”

“So you know the entire story already?”

“A… a little bit… that moron has a big mouth.”

“Sakamoto is one of Tomoeda’s richest families, but not exactly on the same level as the Daidoujis or even our long-lost friend’s family. Her father is an archaeology professor at Clow Reed University, located just three towns over from here, and since he spends a lot of time in the university doing research and going through expedition trips, he doesn’t spend as much time as he does with his family. Her mother died when she was only three or four years old. So technically all her life she always lived under the care of her older brother Touya. Touya-senpai may be hotheaded and stubborn, but he is a good man. He would do anything to keep his sister safe from the wrong clutches, you know? He only respects those really nice guys. He doesn’t really dig bad-ass guys like Sakamoto… or even our long-lost friend.”

An invisible lightning somehow stroke Syaoran inside, making him swallow. “His brother didn’t like the boy she’s in love with?”

Yamazaki shook his head. “He was so disciplined, strict, especially with his martial arts training and everything else that Touya-senpai assumed that he would grow up to be those rebellious bad-ass types, you know? Those are the types of guys he does not want to see his sister to fall for. But you know at the same time, he has to learn how to accept his sister’s happiness too. Well, that’s Touya-senpai for you!”

“Wow, what a devoted brother,” Syaoran said. “She’s definitely in good hands.”

“Well, it won’t be long now though. Touya-senpai’s engaged to the lovely Kaho Mizuki, high school teacher. They’re both grad students working on their masters and they’re graduating next spring. Touya-san’s taking masters in business and management, Mizuki-san is studying for her masters in education. After they’re finished, they can get married and settle down. There’s even a possibility that they may move out of Tomoeda too.”

Syaoran nodded. “I understand now why her father’s desperate for her to get a man. She won’t be living with the newlyweds then?”

“That’s the hard part, Li,” Yamazaki continued. “A Tomoeda girl can’t be set up with some random guy. The guy has to be a Tomoeda resident. What I mean to say is that at some point that the guy lived in Tomoeda for at least five years or more. She can get set up with some guy from the next town, as long as the guy was either born in Tomoeda or had lived in Tomoeda for five years or more. The town registry has all of the names of the residents listed, old and new, so for example, you lived in Tomoeda for five years, but then you had to move out. Your name and the time of your residency here is officially recorded in the town registry. When a parent sets a girl up with some guy, they’re required to check through the town registry to see if the guy was either Tomoeda-born or a past Tomoeda present. And another thing, the guy’s family must also prove to the town council that they were Tomoeda residents by showing them their copy of The Book of Keroberos.”

 _There it is again... The Book of Keroberos!_ Syaoran's inner voice spoke in his mind, referring to that mysterious old book his family sent him via express delivery before. “I see. I guess The Book of Keroberos is pretty much like the Tomoeda Constitution, ne? It seems to rule over this town.”

“Well, um… I really don’t know to be honest… but Tomoeda is a very mysterious town. Some say it used to be ruled over magic and all sorts of enchantment, and that the Book of Keroberos is sort of like a diary of prose from the founder himself.”

“Founder?”

“Clow Reed. He was a very famous scholar and educator that many believed possessed immense magical powers. That university that Sakura’s father is currently working used to be called Tsukisora University, but after his death, they changed the name to Clow Reed University in his honor. He founded this town, Tomoeda, several hundreds of years ago, originally as a town for dedicated scholars and researchers to do their research work, but eventually the town flourished when these scholars eventually got married and then raised their own families and moved them here. They really did a lot to make this town as homely as they can. They discovered a lot of indigenous species, like the night berries and a whole lot more. Everything is recorded in The Book of Keroberos. It’s not just about town customs, but the history and background were written here too. Of course, in weird prose and poetry or whatever you called it. Clow Reed did get married eventually and together, they made this town flourished with so much richness. You know they had children too, but sadly their current descendants no longer live here in Tomoeda…”

As far as Syaoran goes, the more Yamazaki explained the history and background of Tomoeda, he began to feel a few slight contractions within his head. He remembered suffering this before since his fatal car accident at age eleven whenever her family tried all they can to restore all of his past memories while creating new ones. He hadn’t had these contractions for many years now until today. He then began to place his hands on both sides of his temples, which made Yamazaki worry.

“Hey, are you okay, Li?”

Syaoran closed his eyes while giving a soft hiss to ease a bit of his pain. “I… I’m alright… I must be really tired…”

From behind, Sakura arrived back at their spot. “What’s going on…? Oh no! Li-kun, what’s wrong?”

Finally the contractions stopped and Syaoran gave a soft sigh. “I’m… I’m okay now… sorry about that…”

“Dude, maybe you need to lie down and you know, rest,” Yamazaki said.

Moments later, two tow trucks drove past them, exiting the town and heading out. The tow trucks had the name “Yanagisawa Auto Repair” on them and those who spotted it already knew they were there to tow the two buses back in town. Naoko arrived just in time and waved at everyone.

“Hey everyone!” Naoko called out. “The night berry harvest patrol said that we can stop harvesting now. We have more than enough.”

“Ah, finally!” Yamazaki exclaimed as everyone stood up. “You need any help getting up, Li?”

Syaoran then got himself up. “No, I’m alright.”

“So, Terada-san and Wei-san had a meeting with the mayor,” Naoko updated them. “It was a good thing the mayor was at the auto repair shop getting his son’s motorcycle repaired, so they had a meeting inside the office. It’s been decided as to where Li Xiaolang, Eriol Hiiragizawa, and Meiling Li can board throughout their stay here for the movie shoot.”

Tomoyo headed towards where Meiling was resting and eating the night berries away. “Here, let me help you up, Meiling.”

Quickly, Meiling got up with a grin on her face. “Wow, looks like my feet doesn’t hurt as much anymore! And somehow my feet feels so good if I walk barefooted. I still have the nasty blisters but somehow they don’t bother me as much anymore!”

“Ah, it must be because of the night berries!” Tomoyo grinned. “See, night berries have medicinal powers too. That’s another reason why we give them to visitors as our welcome gift. Not only do they taste refreshing, but they’re very healthy for your body and can cure any kind of pain.”

Meiling giggled and began to twirl around with her left foot on the grass. “I feel great! I have to admit the berries really made me feel so refreshed!” She then turned right towards Syaoran. “You should eat some night berries, Xiaolang. This should be our snack during the movie shoot so we don’t get tired easily when we do the shooting, ne?”

Syaoran simply smiled. “Thanks, Meiling.”

Naoko cleared her throat again. “Anyway, after much talk, they decided that you guys should stay at someone’s house.”

“Really?” Sakura asked curiously. “I… I hope they stay nearby our houses and…”

Tomoyo and Naoko suddenly giggled. “Aww… for someone who’s not a fan, you sure want to have Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa very close to you, ne?”

“Th-that’s not it, Tomoyo!” Sakura protested. “I meant to say that… it’d be best if they stay at a house that’s closer to us, since we’re the first four people they’ve met upon their arrival here in Tomoeda, right?”

“Hm, you got a point there, Kinomoto-san,” Eriol chuckled. He then nudged a heavily blushing Syaoran. “How about it, Xiao?”

“Uh… um… right…” Syaoran quickly nodded nervously.

“Oh that wouldn’t be a problem, Sakura,” Naoko winked. “You see, there will be two houses. Li-kun and Hiiragizawa-kun will be staying at one house, while Meiling-san will be staying in another house across the street. Wei-san will be staying with the boys and Terada-san had no choice but to sleep at the Tomoeda Inn with the rest of the cast and crew.”

“Well? Then whose house?” Yamazaki asked in anticipation. “Come on, Naoko, so we can bring our guests in already!”

“Well, the houses that Li Xiaolang, Eriol Hiiragizawa, and Meiling Li will be staying at will be…”

 

#

 

Two hours later, Sakura arrived next door to the Yamazaki Residence with a glass pot on her hand. It was decided by the mayor and the director that Syaoran, Eriol, and Wei will be staying at the Yamazaki Residence, knowing that Takashi Yamazaki lives by himself in such a huge house anyway. Meiling Li was to stay ating the Daidouji Residence right across the street from the Yamazakis knowing that it’s inappropriate for a girl to be alone in a house full of boys. Besides, being a model of the Daidouji Couture fashion, she wanted to get to know more about the alluring world-renowned fashion designer Sonomi Daidouji, her hometown, and of course, her family, in particular the daughter her age named Tomoyo.

Naoko was right, Sakura thought. _Li Xiaolang is my temporary next-door neighbor! Keroberos must be on my side today!_

As a welcome celebration, the four teens decided to have a potluck dinner. The three teen idols did mention that they haven’t eaten for several hours and have been starving all this time. Because no one in town was supposed to know of their early arrival in Tomoeda just yet, treating them out to Mooncastle Diner was out of the question. Instead, Sakura, Naoko, Tomoyo, and Yamazaki decided they will be preparing one dish for tonight’s welcome dinner potluck. Sakura decided to make her best dish, simply known as Vegetable Shrimp Fritters. Tomoyo would be bringing in Tomoeda Salad, a local salad with the freshest, organic ingredients, imitation crab, thin strips of chicken, and a special salad dressing that only the locals would know the recipe. Naoko decided to make homemade no-bake cheesecake that only took thirty minutes to prepare.

When Sakura rang the doorbell, to her surprise, Syaoran answered the door. At first she was taken aback, but then she realized that Yamazaki may be busy in the kitchen that one of them would have to answer the door. Luckily there was an electronic peephole installed in the Yamazaki home that helped the teen star identify the face of the one behind the door.

“Li-kun!” Sakura gasped.

“Hi, Sakura. Come on in,” Syaoran grinned, as he opened the door, letting Sakura enter. She appeared in another white dress, this time a short-sleeved long dress that reached just below her knees. “Wow, I like your dress!”

Sakura blushed and gazed at the dress that Tomoyo made for her last Christmas. “Tomoyo designed this dress herself and gave it to me last Christmas. I felt like dressing up for the occasion so…”

“Here, let me take that.” Syaoran slowly took the glass pot from her as Sakura quickly removed her shoes and slipped in a pair of slippers.

At this point, Sakura noted the attire Syaoran was wearing: An olive green long t-shirt and black sweatpants. Looks like he easily made himself at home since their arrival in their neighborhood. She followed him towards the kitchen, where she passed by Eriol at the living room, reading through the movie script.

“Hello there, Hiiragizawa-kun!” Sakura greeted.

Eriol placed the script down and looked up. He donned a pair of eyeglasses, which really surprised Sakura. “Good evening, dear damsel from next door!”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s always like that with the ladies,” Syaoran warned her. “He likes to sweet talk girls, you know.”

“Ha!” Eriol snickered. “At least mine were just words. You, on the other hand, had to have some action along with your sweet words, Xiao.”

Syaoran rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Eriol.” He proceeded to the dining room, where he placed Sakura’s dish on the table. He even reminded Yamazaki at the kitchen that Sakura just arrived.

“Well well, don’t just stand there, Kinomooto-san, come join us here!” Eriol then patted the empty seat next to him. Sakura was nervous at first, but because she was invited, she approached the sofa and sat next to him. “My, you look a whole lot more radiant than you were earlier, now that the light has shine upon your pretty face.”

Sakura couldn’t help but chuckle. “Th-thanks, I think. But night berries are only good for harvesting during the night, so that’s why we’re still hanging around at night, you know?”

“You know, you have quite an interesting town,” Eriol answered. “Have you heard of anyone who goes by the name of Kashii?”

Sakura began to contemplate. “Well, there is a family named Kashii here. I don’t know much about them but my father knows them quite well. I think their youngest son is one of my dad’s students back at the university.”

“The screenwriters for the movie we’re shooting, _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ , is written by a married couple, Toshifumi and Taeko Kashii. I heard that Toshifumi Kashii had been here in Tomoeda which was why he chose this location for the movie shoot.”

“Wh-who knows!” Sakura chuckled nervously. “M-maybe they’re related to the Kashiis here in Tomoeda. I’ll have to ask my dad but he’ll be working in the university late today. I wish my brother can come here too but he’s got the night shift at Mooncastle Diner, so… it’s just me now!”

Few seconds later, Syaoran appeared at the living room and immediately claimed his spot on the space right next to Sakura. “It’s only a few hours and you’re making moves already, Eriol?”

“Hah!” Eriol smirked once more. “I’m merely trying to start a good conversation between new friends, Xiao. Besides, if you’re wondering about the new desirables, I’ve already set my eyes on one already.”

“Psh, whatever, Eriol. I don’t believe you.” Immediately, Syaoran switched his position and sat quickly between Eriol and Sakura. The girl couldn’t help but laugh at the situation while Eriol stuck his tongue at his best friend.

At this point, Sakura was having random thoughts in her head that may deem appropriate for the time being.  _It's obvious that Eriol Hiiragizawa is flirting with me, but... is Li Xiaolang jealous? Oh, what am I going to do with myself?_

“Always the party pooper, are we, Xiao?”

Right then, the doorbell was heard as Eriol quickly stood up. “My turn this time. That must be the lovely ladies Meiling, Daidouji-san, and Yanagisawa-san!”

Syaoran continued glaring at his best friend while Sakura couldn’t help but to simply laugh nervously. Once Eriol answered the door, he greeted Tomoyo, Naoko, and Meiling, along with their dishes and a huge case that shaped like a guitar on Tomoyo’s other hand.

“A guitar?” Eriol chuckled.

“Yamazaki’s acoustic guitar,” Tomoyo smiled. “He plays guitar in our band, you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup. Maybe we can have a bit of entertainment right after dinner.”

“Good idea, Daidouji-san. I look forward to it.”

At that point, Yamazaki appeared at the living room, still with his apron on.

“Alright! Just in time, everyone!” Yamazaki waved. “Time for dinner!”

The table was already prepared and all the guests had to do was to sit down at their seats. Yamazaki sat at the end, while Sakura, Tomoyo, and Naoko sat on one side. Syaoran, Eriol, and Meiling sat across from them, respectively.

“Itadakimasu!” After that familiar gesture, they all dug in to eat. Over dinner, they complimented each other’s home-cooked meals, with the three teen stars indulged themselves in such delicious homely meal as if they never had this particular meal ever in their lives. Sure, it wasn’t exactly gourmet cooking, but it was indeed local Tomoeda dishes and with the company of newly-formed friends, this was one dinner they would never forget.

After dinner, Naoko noted that she had to leave soon as she was needed back home by her family. She did inform the teen stars that she will be attending the press conference tomorrow for the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog website and will be asking some questions herself, and thus she excused herself. Yamazaki thanked her for joining in the potluck party and Syaoran, Eriol, and Meiling thanked her for being one of the first few people in Tomoeda to welcome them.

In the kitchen, Yamazaki and Sakura washed the dishes, while Tomoyo excused herself to entertain the teen stars. Among the three though, only Syaoran who volunteered to help clean up the dinner table. Although the three are also from high-class families, somehow Syaoran felt like doing some self-labor around someone’s house felt like it was just the right thing to do.

“Somehow,” Syaoran began, while placing all the dirty dishes over the island counter. “The dinner we had earlier felt very… nostalgic… to me…”

“Nostalgic?” Yamazaki chuckled. “You mean you’ve had these Tomoedan local dishes before?”

The chocolate-haired, amber-eyed cutie nodded. “It’s really strange. The fritters that Sakura made for today’s dinner… somehow… I’ve had it before.”

“Interesting,” Sakura grinned. “Have you been to Tomoeda before, Li-kun?”

The young actor sighed. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out these past few days.” He began to scratch his head lightly. “I’m not so sure. I know this is the first time I’ve been here, but somehow, some weird force within me is telling me that I’ve been here before…”

“Well,” Yamazaki said, “maybe Kinomoto and I can help you refresh your memory for a bit.”  _Kind of obvious, Li. You may be Chinese, but your Japanese is 100% authenthic Tomoedan._

At that point, Sakura remembered reading the Li Xiaolang magazine she received from Tomoyo earlier today. At age eleven, he got in to a fatal car accident that left him with a concussion that resulted in amnesia and that his father paralyzed forever. She may have figured if his amnesia was causing all this. Although it was already public knowledge, she didn’t want to bring up his condition and instead, just went along.

“So, what’s your favorite Tomoeda dish then, Li-kun?”

His amber eyes widened. “My favorite? Whisperjay Stew.”

Immediately, the girl gave a shocking, astonished expression on her face, so much that even Yamazaki also found himself at awe. His thoughts about the way Syaoran spoke Japanese like the way a local Tomoedan would has been confirmed with his immediate answer.

“Whisperjay Stew… wow…”

“Why?” Syaoran softly chuckled. “Something wrong?”

“N-no,” Yamazaki muttered nervously. “It’s just that… Whisperjay Stew has got to be the most difficult dish to prepare and… it’s also very rare as well. We only serve Whisperjay Stew on special occasions, you know?”

“Is that so?” Syaoran’s eyes blinked in curiosity. “My mother, although she just let our family chefs do all the cooking, on special occasions, she would prepare Whisperjay Stew for me whenever I feel down or if there’s a special celebration. It was one dish that she’s very good making at by herself.”

“Ah!” Sakura gasped once more. “Your mother? Then that must mean that… your family has lived here in Tomoeda before? Maybe you have lived in Tomoeda before yourself also?”

Syaoran slightly lowered his head. “That’s… one main reason why I decided to take this role in this upcoming movie. When my parents heard that the movie shoot will take place in Tomoeda, they pushed me in to taking the role. I wasn’t interested at first because the movie happens to be a high school romantic comedy and as you know, I’m a martial arts action star. They also said… well… they also said that if I take this role and come here to Tomoeda… that I will finally find my true whole self again.”

_Li Xiaolang is a Tomoeda local boy! Boy, wouldn't Chi-chan be happy to hear that the idol she's been crushing on is a fellow Tomoedan boy like me. But... he doesn't remember anything about his past?_

Later, Sakura and Yamazaki finished washing the dishes and the three began fixing the dinner table. “Here’s one question I would like to ask,” Yamazaki continued.

“Sure, Yamazaki. What is it?” Syaoran asked curiously.

“Do you have a copy of The Book of Keroberos?”

“Huh?”

“The Book of Keroberos.”

Syaoran gulped nervously, then cleared his throat. “Yes… yes, I do.”

_Yep. He's a purebred Tomoeda boy, alright._

“Oh my!” Sakura gasped in shock. “Then… that means that your family has lived here in Tomoeda for a period of time.”

“I’m not sure where you’re getting at…”

“Li, every Tomoeda resident family is given a copy of The Book of Keroberos by the town council," Yamazaki began to explain. "The keyword here is given. The Book of Keroberos isn’t for sale at all. When a family reaches their fifth year as Tomoeda residents, they receive one copy of The Book of Keroberos from the mayor and the town council, complete with the family name and the members of the family engraved in it.”

“Look,” Syaoran began his reply, “I only found out about The Book of Keroberos a few days ago. My family lives in Hong Kong and my mother sent me that book via express delivery in a package. I only got a note saying that while I’m here at Tomoeda that I should start reading the book.”

“No doubt about it though, Li-kun,” Sakura smiled. “Maybe that’s why you seem to be familiar with all of Tomoeda, somewhat. I even noticed the way you eat the night berries reminds me of someone I knew before…"

"Not to mention the way you speak," Yamazaki added. "Sure, you may be Chinese, but the way you speak Japanese makes you be identified as a Tomoeda local boy."

Syaoran laughed nervously. "I do, seriously?" The locals nodded. "Huh... I don't know about that."

Sakura continued. "And even Whisperjay Stew? No outsider would be able to know about the Whisperjay Stew, let alone eating it, ne?”

Syaoran couldn’t respond to everything that these two local teens just informed him, however deep within, he discovered that he can trust these two. They didn’t exactly act like rabid fans once they first saw him anyway, plus he remembered that Sakura owed him after he rescued her from her small trouble with that airheaded goon. “Can I trust you…?”

Sakura and Yamazaki looked up to face him. “What is it, Li?”

“Can I trust the both of you… regarding my life…?”

It was a good thing that Tomoyo was already entertaining Eriol and Meiling at the living room by playing Yamazaki’s guitar and singing for them, meaning they wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation at the dining table. Sakura and Yamazaki approached Syaoran, being aware that secrecy and privacy are very important to celebrities like Syaoran.

“I want to help you, Li-kun,” Sakura said. “You said so yourself earlier when you helped me get rid of Sakamoto. I promised in return that I would help you with whatever help you need.”

“Then,” Syaoran said, facing Sakura’s green eyes. “Will you help me remember…? About my life here in Tomoeda?”

Sakura gave a nod. “Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m sure Taka and I— and Tomoyo too, for sure— would be more than happy to help you. Ne, Taka?”

"Yeah, sure thing, man," Yamazaki answered. "You know, Li, I think I like you already." At the same time, he could hear his inner voice speaking again.  _You're just like Syao-chan... no doubt._

“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Syaoran bowed at them to show his gratitude. “And Yamazaki… a favor… please… not a word to your girlfriend or the entire Wolfpups Fanclub. Please?”

Yamazaki gave a slight chuckle. “It’s bad enough that we just had dinner with you and I didn’t even invite my girlfriend along. She’s gonna kill me big time if she finds out.”

“I’ll deal with her if she asks, Yamazaki.”

“Then sure. I’ll make sure that I keep my mouth shut whenever Chiharu starts opening her big mouth and mentions your name in there.”

“Thank you.” Right then, he and Yamazaki shook hands. “Well, I know that I’ll be spending most of my time in the set, but I want to keep in touch.” He reached in to his pocket for his mobile phone.

“Sure thing,” Yamazaki said and also reached his phone. He placed his mobile phone against Syaoran’s mobile, and then two beeps coming from the two phones sounded.

Syaoran then turned to Sakura. “May we exchange phone numbers?”

Sakura gulped and swallowed. “I… I’m sorry! I don’t have a cellphone!”

“No cellphone?” Somehow Syaoran responded with a rather sad tone.

“Well… it’s just that… I mean I had one, but it broke and… my father was too busy to get my phone fixed and my brother simply refused to have my phone fixed.” She sighed and dropped her head. “I’m hopeless, I know…”

Yamazaki snapped his fingers. “She does get her phone calls from Tomoyo’s phone, so maybe just ask her for her number instead if you want to call Sakura.”

“Hm. I guess it’ll do.” The two boys placed their mobile phones back in their pockets.

“Well, shall we join the others then?” Sakura grinned. “Tomoyo’s at her singing sessions again. She’s such a wonderful singer! You should listen too, Li-kun!”

“Haha, I’d like that.”

The three teens left the dining area and right at the living room, where Tomoyo, Eriol, and Meiling have been busy being entertained.

 

#

 

Two hours before midnight arrived and Wei, Syaoran’s manager and butler, arrived at the Yamazaki Residence. He reminded the three stars that they will be waking up early tomorrow morning for a breakfast briefing regarding their upcoming schedules for the movie shoot. Tomorrow afternoon is the press conference and performance by the local Tomoeda artists, meaning that the party among the teenagers at the Yamazaki living room was over.

Eriol decided that he would escort Tomoyo and Meiling across the street, just for courtesy. Syaoran, letting his pride take over him, saw this gesture as some kind of a competition on the gentleman category and volunteered to take Sakura home, even if it was just next door.

“Li-kun,” Sakura chuckled as she exited the fence first, with Syaoran following her from behind. “It’s only next door over there. I’ll be fine.”

“Well.. It’s just that… after earlier today with that Sakamoto bastard I feel like… I have to protect you,” Syaoran said, gritting his teeth in nervousness after he realized the latter. _Why on earth did I say that?_

“After the way you tired him out earlier, Li-kun, I don’t think he’ll ever look at me or come near me ever again,” Sakura answered in confidence. “But thank you so much for taking me home. That’s very sweet of you.”

They exchanged their goodnights to Tomoyo, Eriol, and Meiling as Sakura and Syaoran walked their way next door. Once they got to the fence, she spotted the living room lights on through the window. That only meant one thing.

“Looks like my father or my brother’s home,” Sakura gave a slight grin.

“That’s good,” Syaoran said. “If not, I would’ve stayed with you until one of them comes home.”

Sakura gasped and without thinking, placed her hands right against his chest. “Y-you don’t want to meet my brother, Li-kun. Well, not yet anyway. My father is a very open and friendly man. I’d rather have you meet him than meeting Touya.”

Syaoran gave a soft chuckle. “Considering what your brother did to that loser that made him want to get his revenge on him, I’m already aware about your brother’s wrath.”

“He’s paranoid, Li-kun, so don’t pay attention to any of his threats should he ever threaten you.”

“Don’t worry, I can deal.”

Sakura gave a huge sigh of relief. Right then, silence fell between the two, with both find themselves blushing. Just as things were about to get awkward, both attempted to break the silence.

“Li-kun, um…”

“Listen, I…”

Sakura gasped. “Go ahead.”

“No, ladies first.”

“A-are you sure?” Sakura blinked.

“Please.”

“Um… okay. Well… Li-kun… I know this is… awkward and a little early, but… this entire time I feel like… I mean… it’s just that… when I accidentally ran in to you… and then we hung out at Taka’s house for dinner and then… the singing session and the chatting and… I felt as if… I mean… I feel as if…” Sakura found herself stammering, finding the right words while trying to restrain herself from blushing anymore.

_No, Sakura, what are you doing? You guys just met a few hours ago. Just... just shut up! Don't say anymore..._

“You felt as if we’ve known each other forever?” Syaoran assumed the continuation, which made Sakura gasp.

_What the... can he read my mind? Oh no... what am I gonna do with myself now..._

“Y-yes! That’s it! And it’s not just that… it’s just… well…”

“You remind me of someone close to you?”

“Ack!” Sakura quickly covered her face to hide her embarrassed expression. “H-how… how did you…”

“Relax… Yamazaki told me—”

 _Oh. Taka told him. I thought the Book of Keroberos is already doing its magic with me and Li-kun. Not fair._ She dropped her hands quickly and glared immediately towards Yamazaki’s house. “Why that blabbermouth…”

“I… I’m sorry about that.” He bowed his head as his sign of apology.

“No, it’s… it’s not your fault. I was just shocked that you would mention about it…” She gave another sigh and then dropped her head. “I’m hopeless, I know…”

“Hey.” Right then, Syaoran moved closer, just a few inches to where Sakura was standing. “I trust you with my life, remember? You and Yamazaki. I… well…” He turned his face away to hide the blushing. “I hope that… you’d trust me too… with your life.”

Sakura gasped and slowly lifted her head towards him. “Li-kun… you have no idea how honored I am that you would trust me with your life. I… of course, I will trust you with mine. You already showed how trustworthy you can be earlier with the whole Sakamoto thing, so…” Once again, she bowed again. “Thank you so much, Li-kun!”

He returned the bow as well. “I thank you as well, Sakura.”

When the two got up, Sakura couldn’t help herself but flash a happy grin. “If you’re wondering… my bedroom window’s over there at the side, facing Taka’s side of the house.” She pointed towards a huge window at the side of her house, right through a tall and fully-bloomed white cherry blossom tree standing between the Kinomoto Residence and the Yamazaki Residence.

“Well, is that so?” Syaoran smirked. “The room I’m staying is the window just across from yours.”

“Eh?” Sakura gasped in shock. “You’re staying at…” She pointed to the window at the Yamazaki’s side facing her own window.

“Yup. Right there.”

_Li Xiaolang is staying in Syaoran's old room... oh Keroberos, what on earth are you doing now...? Show me some signs, please..._

Sakura gulped nervously, knowing that the room where Li Xiaolang would be staying for the time being happened to be the former bedroom of her long-lost childhood beloved Syaoran Li. Still though, she didn’t want to be rude to a guest, especially if that guest happened to be a very well-renowned teen idol named Li Xiaolang.

“I… I guess I still get to see you without going over to Taka’s house!”

“And I get to speak to you through the window without your brother hounding me down like a dead turkey,” Syaoran chuckled.

“Well then. See you tomorrow I guess,” Sakura grinned.

“Yes. Goodnight, Sakura. Sweet dreams. See you tomorrow.”

The two teens waved at each other, as Sakura entered her fence. Syaoran stood still to watch Sakura to make sure she does make it inside the house. When her door opened, four other individuals, namely the two older couples, Touya and Kaho, as well as Yukito and Nakuru, exited the house. Touya was escorting his guests while Sakura followed them from behind.

“Goodnight to all of you, Kaho-neechan, Nakuru-neechan, Yukito-san!” She waved at the three when Nakuru suddenly halted from the fence.

“Oh… Em… Gee…” Nakuru gasped once when her eyes spotted the hunble-looking Li Xiaolang standing right next to the fence. “Is that who I think it is, Kaho?”

“H-huh?” Syaoran gulped, blinking in shock.

Kaho quickly dashed right next to Nakuru and also spotted the handsome teen. “N-no way! Is that… is that…?”

“Huh? Who? What?” Yukito gasped, but it was too late. Both Nakuru and Kaho exited the fence and quickly approached Syaoran.

“It’s Li Xiaolang! Oh my god he’s already here— in our neighborhood and in front of the Kinomoto House!” Nakuru squealed happily like a fangirl.

“Li Xiaolang, I may be older than you but I’m your biggest fan!” Kaho screamed as a fangirl should.

“Can I have your autograph Li-kun? Please?!” Nakuru demanded.

“Uhh…” Suddenly Syaoran found himself in a bind. He had to make a run for it before these two older female fangirls get to him. “You mean me?!” He pointed immediately at himself with a shocked look on his face.

“What the— what’s going on?!” Touya suddenly shouted his frustration. Just as he found the target, he began to throw threats right at him. “Get your ass over here, you little turd! That’s my fiancee you’re luring in! I’m gonna hunt you down like a headless chicken!”

“Oniichan, stop it! Leave him alone!” Sakura suddenly grabbed Touya by his arm, while Yukito also helping her to restratin the hotheaded older brother.

“Crap! Uhh— I don’t know who Li what’s-his-name is!” Syaoran began spitting out random words. “I’m Takashi Yamazaki’s cousin… uhh… Shin! G-get away from me!” Quickly, he turned away and began to run from the two girls. Yukito decided to chase after the girls while Sakura continued to push Touya away from the fence.

“Nakuru! Kaho-san! Come back here!” Yukito called while he chased after the two women.

In the meantime, Touya continued to curse out his threats. “Next time I see your sorry ass face around here, you better start saying your prayers before I cream your brains out, you chick-stealing Don Juan!”

“Oniichan, please, stop! He’s not who you think it is, please!” Sakura pleaded once more until she finally succeeded in pushing her brother back inside the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is "You Cheated," cover version by The Murmaids.
> 
> In case you haven't noticed, I am an old school type of gal when it comes to music. I love the '50s, '60s, (some) '70s, (some) '80s, '90s, and (very) early 2000s music. The '90s are my teenage and college years, which is the same decade that CCS was born anyway (1996), so in a way, the older songs fit the setting of the CCS original canon. The reason why is because the lyrics and the meanings behind most of these songs fit the general characteristics of many typical lyrics of J-Pop and J-Rock songs. Because my target audience are English speakers and those who can understand enough English, I avoid using lyrics of J-Pop/J-Rock songs for my chapters. For one thing, why use songs in a different language that not the entire world understands? And second, I don't have time to translate these lyrics myself, as I have become very rusty with my Japanese proficiency. I'm just surprised that I can still read and write most of the Japanese text. Anyway, in addition to why I refer to the older songs (whether they were popular back then or one-hit wonders) is because I no longer listen to the radio anymore. I'm just not really into whatever the heck's popular with music today. Don't ask me who Miley Cyrus is or Taylor Swift or anyone familiar, because I wouldn't have a clue.
> 
> I don't take requests from anyone who suggest a certain song, because it would be very difficult for me to make that fit in a particular setting that I write. It's a whole lot easier for me if I'm the one who comes up with the most fitting songs. I apologize for that.
> 
> I do hope you all enjoy this chapter. And here's an early warning. If you don't like "super-long" chapters, you may probably quit on reading this story. But if you don't mind the length of the future chapters and that you love this story, please, feel free to continue, leave me any reviews, comments, any form of messages here. I would really, really appreciate it!


	5. Tuesday Till Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura finds herself in an embarrassing situation when she made her first realization that her long lost love's bedroom across the window from her is now being occupied by teen idol Li Xiaolang. The cast and crew of _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ have their meeting at Tomoeda Inn, in which Eriol and Meiling connect the dots regarding the movie itself and Tomoeda in general. They discover about the screenwriter Taeko Kashii's past with Tomoeda, the character names they're portraying being similar to the three Tomoeda locals they met last night, and Li Xiaolang's own past. During their meeting with Sonomi Daidouji, famous fashion designer and costume designer for the movie, the teen idols learn more of the three locals they met last night, and Syaoran becomes interested in Sakura's, Tomoyo's, and Yamazaki's band, The Cool Rascals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Card Captor Sakura © CLAMP/Kodansha. The only thing I own here is this fanfic's plot and whatever original characters I may create here.

“ _Good morning Tomoeda Teensters! It’s the first Tuesday morning of summer vacation, 6:00 a.m. and you all know what that day is, all you hip youngsters out there! Very soon, you’ll be able to meet…”_

Sakura immediately woke up once her radio clock went off. She stretched her arms and got up from her bed immediately with a huge grin on her face. She had a wonderful dream last night, a very wonderful one indeed. Of all the dreams that she have had in the past, this one somehow gave her a bit of optimism starting today.

The sudden arrival of Li Xiaolang, Eriol Hiiragizawa, and Meiling Li actually stirred a few of the Tomoeda townsfolk. It was a good thing that they succeeded in keeping their presence in Tomoeda last night a secret. Well, that is, until her older brother Touya’s loving fiancee Kaho and his best friend Yukito’s fiancee Nakuru spotted the handsome amber-eyed hottie just outside her fence and all hell broke lose. Somewhat. She hoped that Yukito was able to catch up to the two fiancees from reaching the poor idol. She dashed right to the restroom to wash her face and gargle with her usual mouthwash. Then she headed back to her bedroom to fix her hair and changed into her usual casual home clothes.

But first, she reached her desk and turned on her laptop. She quickly sent an email to her best friend from across the street:

_Tomoyo,_

_You’re not gonna believe this, but guess what. I had such a wonderful dream last night. I dreamed that Li Xiaolang is actually Syaoran in disguise. He decided to take on the leading role in this new movie “Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf,” as his way of making his exit from showbiz and then live here in Tomoeda for good. I know it’s weird and all that, but maybe because I learned last night that Li-kun’s temporary room was Syaoran’s old room in Yamazaki’s house._

_And you know how we used to talk through the window, see each other every morning and every night, and then there're times where Syaoran would climb out of his window and right through the branches of the cherry tree, just so he can get close to me and not get caught by our parents? I dreamed that too. Li Xiaolang climbed out of the window and knocked on my window, telling me to wake up because it’s morning._

_Oh, I don’t know, Tomoyo. I mean I’ve only seen him in a magazine… then all of a sudden I see him in the flesh at night— and he even stood up for me against that jerk Sakamoto too. And now I’m having dreams that're telling me that my sweet little wolf and Li Xiaolang are the same person. I think it’s a sign. It’s a real sign that one day, soon and very soon, Syaoran will come back home to us here in Tomoeda!_

_How are you, by the way? I hope you and Meiling had a wonderful sleep last night. Probably you girls stayed up and just chat all night, huh? Wish I was there, but you know how strict my brother is, and Dad would probably be worried about me too, so I have to stay the diligent, dutiful daughter like I’ve always been._

_See you later! Today’s the press conference and our band performance as the Cool Rascals!_

_Keep in touch! -Sakura_

She then pressed the “Send” button and headed to her closet to pick today’s home outfit. The summer sun was beginning to burn up a bit, even if it was this early in the morning. Since it just so happened to be getting warm outside, she approached her side window, opened her pink lace curtains and then push her window panes open. That cherry blossom tree still held the usual number of blooms until her eyes found the window across from her at Yamazaki’s house.

 _Oh, that’s right,_ Sakura thought to herself. _Li Xiaolang is sleeping in Syaoran’s old room._

Just as the curiosity killed the cat, Sakura knew it was wrong to peep into someone else’s window, but considering her first meeting with her hero had such captivating fiery amber red eyes and that heart-melting, mesmerizing smile, what’s a little peek?

_Oh no… what on earth am I thinking? I… I don’t want him to think that I’m some pervert… but… but… just a little peek… just… a little…_

She began to step out of her window to reach the nearest branch of the cherry tree. She hasn’t changed her pink cherry blossom designed PJs into her day outfit of the day but since this was going to be just a small gaze on the handsome Chinese heartthrob that it shouldn’t be a problem to climb across his window through the cherry blossom tree. Syaoran had done it several times several years ago and as a child both of them loved to climb and sit on the stable branches of this particular tree anyway. Why not do it again?

Once she found the sturdiest, she reached her foot onto it and slid herself down so she can get her entire body out of the window. She found her balance on that one single branch and was now in a sitting position. She needed to find the next sturdy branch to sit on next. When she spotted that particular branch, she couldn’t reach out using her hand without losing her balance and end up with a few broken bones. Therefore, she decided to stretch out one leg and hook it around.

She was able to reach that second strong branch with her right leg. Using her leg, she lifted herself up and ended up clinging on to that branch. She shifted her position back on sitting position. Just two more branches to go and she would be able to be close enough to look through the window.

_Okay. One more sturdy branch. Come on, Sakura. You can do this._

She began to scan around the branches close to her for the next sturdy branch. She found two stable-looking branches that looked identical to each other. She gazed down to see that she was already over the fence that divided the Kinomoto property from the Yamazaki property. That only meant that she was very close, or rather just close enough to be able to see through the window.

_Well, what do I have to lose? My chance to see Li Xiaolang sleeping or my life? Oh heck, I can handle this dang tree, no problem!_

Using the same method she did earlier, she used her left leg to reach for one of the two identical sturdy branches. Gently crawling downward, she was able to arrive at that particular branch with her left foot. All she had to do was to push herself forward slowly and then have her right foot touch the other branch next to it. Before she knew it, once her right foot touched the other branch, she immediately lost her balance sitting down and tipped over to the right.

“Hoooooeeeee!!” Sakura gave a loud yelp, but luckily her arms were able to grab those two branches. She couldn’t find a supporting branch where she can place her feet so she would find her balance again. Now she found herself hanging from her bones and right over the fence leading to the Yamazaki side.

_Okay… this is like gymnastics, Sakura… all you have to do is swing yourself to the next branch… or maybe the same branch…. Ready… here we go…_

Using her arms and her grip on to the branch, she began to swing herself back and forth as if she was simply doing her usual flips on the monkey bars in the local playground. Once she was able to gain momentum on her swinging back and forth, she reached her legs to the same branch she was holding on to. Looking like a sloth, she was now clinging her entire body on the same branch she was just holding on to.

_Okay… this is awkward… and embarrassing… this was a stupid idea… you are an idiot, Sakura…_

She knew she had to get up back at the branches again before anyone else outside the neighborhood spot her monkeying around like it was no one’s business. She couldn’t have the entire neighborhood watch her just hanging on to the branch for no apparent reason. The worse case scenario at this point, for sure, was if Syaoran woke up and then opened his window to find the entire sakura tree— including its human version— greeted him with its beautiful blushing blossoms and a blushing girl in embarrassment.

Much to Sakura’s fear of the latter happening, it happened. The window on the Yamazaki side opened and Syaoran, only wearing a forest green tank top and a small white towel around him.

“Hoe…” Sakura gave a soft shriek, not only because the teen star opened his window, but the fact that he only appeared in a tank top, showing off his contoured biceps also made her blush.

“Isn’t this a beautiful morning,” Syaoran grinned, gazing right at the cherry tree. “Even in the summer, the cherry blossoms of Tomoeda bloom endlessly…” And then he gazed right below where he found the girl next door clinging on to the branch for her life. “Even the human blossom sprung up along as well.”

“G-Good morning, Li-kun…” Sakura stammered nervously. “Um… d-did you sleep well last night?”

Syaoran sat on the window sill, looking very amused at the situation right now. “The best… haven’t had a good night’s sleep for a long time now. It feels like I’m home, finally.” He stretched his arms and then gave a soft chuckle. “What are you doing down there?”

“Um… well… this isn’t what it looks like…”

“Is it an early morning habit that you climb the cherry tree like this?”

“Hoe…”

“Or maybe you’re trying to give a new definition of ‘tree-hugging’?”

“Hoe?”

“Or maybe…” He gave a slight snicker on his face. “… maybe there’s something through this window of the other side of the fence that you would really _like_ to see?”

“Hooooeeee…” Sakura felt that her grip was already slipping and re-adjusted her legs around the branch to keep herself hanging.

“That’s not a bad idea, though. Maybe I should climb on the tree too so I can look through your window and see what I _want_ to see, ne?” He gave her a wink, which made Sakura lose her grip on the legs and was now back to dangling in the air.

“N-no, it’s not like that …” Sakura gave a panicking tone. “Well… um… it’s… my… morning exercise routine… you know… I call it… the Cherry Blossom Pull-Ups!”

“Cherry blossom pull-ups?” Syaoran chortled.

“And… chin-ups too!”

“Chin-ups!” He could just sit on his windowsill and find entertainment at the hanging Sakura at the tree, but seeing that she was ready to fall hard down the ground, let alone the fence, that would seriously cause her major injuries, he gave in and began to climb out of his window and on to the nearest sturdy branch.

Somehow once he gripped on that branch, that same familiarity aura came to him again. It gave him the reminder that he had been climbing the branches of this same cherry tree. In fact, it even dated all the way back during his younger years where his father, still active and vigorous as he was before the accident, used to train him in doing pull-ups, chin-ups, and climbing using this very same cherry tree. Once he had his entire body on to the branches, he didn’t even have to scan for the next sturdy branch. With a swift movement, he was able to reach Sakura, whose hands were about to slip.

“I… I can’t hold on…” Sakura gritted. “Hooooeeee!!!” Eventually, her hands slipped, but lucky for her; her savior was able to grab her right hand. “Whoa… whoa…”

“Hang on, Sakura; I got you…” The chin-length caramel-haired girl next door quickly grabbed his arm with her left hand, as Syaoran used his natural strength to lift her up to the branches. She found a sitting spot at a thicker branch with Syaoran sitting right across from her.

“S-Sorry about that…” Sakura chuckled nervously. “I… I’m sure you didn’t want to see _that_ first thing in the morning…”

Syaoran still could not help himself but laugh some more. “You know, it isn’t every day that I get to see a beautiful girl ‘tree-hugging’ early this morning, you know.”

“I-I’m not a tree-hugger!” Sakura protested with one fist tightening. “Well… that is… it’s just that… I kinda miss climbing this tree. That’s all.”

“Right.” Syaoran had been surrounded by the female race all his life. After all, he had his stunningly beautiful mother and his four lusciously attractive sisters. And then there were also his fellow female co-idols and his ex-girlfriend named Meiling Li. He pretty much knew each of their motives whenever they face him. He can even read Sakura’s intentions were for hanging around on the tree in the first place.

“Why are you up so early, Sakura? Isn’t it summer vacation for you guys?”

“Well… it’s just that… um… it’s hard to explain… something sprung up within me and… you know… I just feel like waking up this morning. That’s all!”

“It’s about 6:30 in the morning now,” Syaoran said, stretching his arms again while resting comfortably on the branches of the tree. “Our pre-production meeting isn’t until in an hour, and we’ll be having free breakfast.”

“Wow, it’s going to be a busy day for you guys!”

“What are you up to for today, Sakura? Well, aside from performing with your band after the press conference and all.”

“Um… well… I’m not sure…” Sakura shrugged her shoulders. “For sure Tomoyo wants to do something for today, that’s for sure. My dad will be heading off to university again to continue his doctoral thesis again. Touya… I’m not sure…”

Syaoran then cleared his throat and changed the subject. “So… I heard from Yamazaki that those two ladies who chased me last night are your brother’s and his best friend’s fiancees?”

“Sorry about that…” Sakura sighed. “I didn’t even know that the neechans are closet Wolfpups too. But it’s not your fault at all. I didn’t even know they’d be there at my house too along with Touya and Yukito-san.”

“Your brother doesn’t seem too pleased to see me I’m afraid…” Syaoran gave a light grin.

“Ignore him, Li-kun. He can go overboard, but he’s a really good guy. Honest!”

“Hehe, I believe you.”

“And… I guess now you must be thinking that the Tomoeda people aren’t very normal…”

Syaoran broke into laughter again. “What are you talking about, Sakura? I like it here.”

“R-Really?” Sakura’s eyes widened in surprise.

“A lot of people in showbiz are tons much weirder than here to tell you the truth.”

“Xiao?! Where are you?”

Right when the two were about to carry on with their conversation, a panicking voice appeared right at the Yamazaki window, which almost startled Sakura and lost her balance again. Luckily for her, Syaoran was able to hold her steady with his hands holding tightly on to Sakura’s shoulder blades.

“Eriol?” Syaoran gasped to see his fellow idol and best friend sticking his head out from his window.

“Good thing you’re awake— and already hiding…”

“Hiding? I’m not exactly hiding—”

“Yamazaki just woke me up. He also woke up when his mobile phone rang. It turns out his girlfriend wants to come over to his house…”

Sakura chuckled. “Chiharu? She’s coming over?”

“And… you know how she doesn’t know that we’re already here, let alone her own boyfriend’s house?” Eriol gritted his teeth. “Yeah… we’re in a bit of a dilemma.”

Syaoran’s eyes widened in shock and then scooted himself to another branch to give some room to Eriol. “Come on over, Eriol.”

“Thanks, Xiao!” Eriol grinned and slowly climbed himself out from the window and then inside the cherry blossom tree. He found a spot right next to Syaoran and decided to relax there. “My my, this cherry tree is sturdy!” Immediately he took notice of Sakura adjacent to his best friend. “Well, well, look at what we have here. Even _human_ cherry blossoms reside in the tree?”

“Hoe…” Sakura gasped and then cleared her throat. “Good morning, Hiiragizawa-kun!”

“Now why on earth would you also be in this lovely cherry blossom tree, my dear?” Eriol grinned. “You’ve only met one another in twenty-four hours, and you’re already sneaking out of your rooms for your very first snogging session? Tsk, tsk. You go, Xiao!”

“Don’t get any funny ideas, Eriol,” Syaoran gave a direct glare towards him. “Sakura and I were doing our early morning workouts!”

“Oh? Let me guess… pull-ups… chin-ups… branch-gripping and lip-locking?”

“Say one more word and your ass is mine, got that?” Syaoran gave a threat.

“Settle down now, Xiao. You know I’m joking.” Right then, he gazed at the girl next door, still in her PJs. “I thought you would be sleeping in this very fine summer Tuesday, Sakura?”

The girl only just gave a gentle grin. “I want to sleep in, but something forced me to wake up, you know?”

“Ah, one of those things,” Eriol nodded. “Could it be because Li Xiaolang just happened to be next door to you?”

“Eriol!” Syaoran fumed.

“Kidding… kidding…” Eriol snickered.

“Speaking of hiding, where’s Wei?” Syaoran asked curiously.

“He left a note on the table when Yamazaki woke up. He went out jogging to meet up with Terada at the inn. He’ll be back before the meeting.”

Just before they were going to continue chatting, they heard Yamazaki’s voice coming from the front as if he was shouting right at them. “Oh! Good morning Chiharu!”

“Crap!” Syaoran gave a soft curse. “She’s here…” Sakura and Eriol then gave a hush as they listened in.

“Why on earth are you shouting, Takashi? It’s not like I’m deaf!”

“Well… it’s… it’s a very… very… _very_ lovely sunny summer day, you know? I just have this urge… to shout. GOOD MORNING!”

“Anyway, Takashi. Aren’t you gonna let me in?”

“In? Oh… um… the house is a mess right now… my folks came over last night.”

“What? Your folks came over? How come you didn’t invite me? You could’ve introduced me to your family, you know…”

“Um… uh… it was last minute and… well… they’re leaving soon, but they’re asleep right now. C-come back in thirty minutes!”

“Thirty minutes? Are you insane?”

“I’ll… I’ll call you, Chiharu, promise! Love you!”

“What the… what are you… why are you pushing me away from your house? Takashi, I need to talk to you! It’s something important about later today! You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

“I… I can’t do anything right now, I gotta clean up or else my elders are gonna kill me—” Right then, silence came.

“FINE, TAKASHI! BE THAT WAY! YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT OUR AFTER-PRESS CONFERENCE DATE, YOU HEAR ME?… AND… AND… YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT ME INTRODUCING LI XIAOLANG TO YOU EITHER!”

Although they couldn’t see what was going on, they did hear Chiharu leave the premises, which gave them a huge sigh of relief. “Well then,” Eriol said. “That didn’t take too long…”

“I’m a little nervous,” Syaoran admitted. “That Chiharu Mihara… she’s the president of the Wolfpups here in Tomoeda and Yamazaki’s girlfriend too. She sounds rather… controlling…”

Sakura shook her head. “She’s a sweet girl, you know. It’s just that Taka’s lying and make-up stories drive her nuts, you know? But they love each other… in a very… um… interesting way…”

Eriol patted Syaoran on the shoulder. “Well, with Xiao around, this will be a test to see if your Wolfpups president would stay faithful to her love or would rather drop him for her celebrity crush. What do you think, Xiao?”

“Don’t get me involved in someone else’s love life, Eriol,” Syaoran scooted away from his friend. “Sure, I’m required to meet the fanclub presidents around the country, but I don’t plan on getting close to anyone of them. It’s bad enough that many of the latest couple breakups around have me as the one to blame. I’m not gonna make enemies with our host over that Chiharu girl.”

“Then again,” Sakura joined in, “the best part of our Wolfpups here in Tomoeda is that you’re closer to the boyfriend than to the president herself!”

“Thank God for that,” Syaoran gave a sigh of relief. At this moment, Yamazaki appeared at the side window.

“Hiiragizawa, Li, my girlfriend’s go— oh, hello there Kinomoto. Why are you there?”

Because of his sudden appearance, Sakura loses her balance again and now hanging on her branch with just her arms. “Hoooeeee… heeeeelp!”

“Oi! Sakura, hang on!” Quickly, Syaoran and Eriol reached for the girl before she falls from the tree while Yamazaki flashed a shy and nervous grin.

“Guess I appeared at the wrong time… sorry about that…”

 

#

 

An hour passed and Sakura found herself all dressed up in a mint green short-sleeved t-shirt with a design print that says “Minty Fresh Cool” and long denim capri pants. She was already at the breakfast table with her father and her brother, enjoying her father’s famous Belgian waffles and fruit salad. Her father, archeology doctor Professor Fujitaka Kinomoto, noticed Sakura’s chirpy attitude this morning while her brother, the hotheaded, overprotective Touya Kinomoto, had been glaring at her with a suspicious mind.

“Your Belgian Waffles are so moist and juicy and incredibly delicious, Dad,” Sakura gave a huge grin at her father, with eyes looked like she had some other ulterior motive.

“Am I getting better, Sakura?” Fujitaka chuckled. “When I’m finished with my thesis, I’ll be sure to spend some more time with you in the kitchen and teach you how to make the best Belgian Waffles all of Tomoeda has ever tasted.”

“Thanks, Dad! I look forward to that!”

“Huh, quite surprising that you’re up this early considering we’re out on a summer break…” Touya muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Oh shut up, Oniichan,” Sakura frowned. “I woke up early. So what?”

“Why do you have petals stuck on your hair, beast?”

At that point, she wanted to punch her brother in the face for calling her yet another synonym for a monster. Instead, she was taken aback when he noticed the scattered petals on her hair. “Hoe?”

Quickly Sakura began to rub her chin-length caramel hair and found a few cherry blossom petals dropping from her hair. “Well… I must have left my window open last night. It was really hot in my room, and I wanted it a bit cooler. I guess a gust of wind blew through the cherry blossom tree next to my window that a lot of these petals just flew right through my room and landed on my hair!” Obviously, she knew that was a lie. She didn’t want to let both her father and Touya that she climbed over the cherry blossom tree so that she can take peek at Syaoran’s window at the Yamazaki residence.

“A gust of wind, huh…” Touya continued to stare at her as he continued nibbling on his waffle.

Fujitaka led out a sigh as he finished his plate. “Oh goodness… I am running out of options…”

“Dad… no rush, please. I’ll… I’ll find someone… although I do wish you’d stop setting me up with random guys anymore…”

Touya turned his head towards his father. “You’re not sick or anything with some chronic disease, are you Dad?”

“Huh? Of course not, Touya. How could you think about that? I’m just stressed out with this thesis; that’s all.”

“Well, you’re in a rush to really hook Sakura up with some goon, that’s all. I mean, one failed date with one guy, then the next week, she gets set up with another one again? Kaho and I are also having trouble organizing our plans for our wedding, and you’re not even paying attention to that.”

“Touya, you do know that when it comes to love, daughters are a priority—”

From out of the blue, Touya slammed a fist on the table. “Dad, come on. At this point, I’m more priority in this family than she is. Kaho’s parents have been spending a lot of time with her planning for her wedding gown and the bridesmaids and all of that what not. Yukito’s got his wedding plans with Nakuru too, and he’s got support from his family too. When am I gonna get your support, Dad?”

Sakura gave a nod. “Oniichan’s right, Dad. I’m only seventeen and ineligible to get married yet. Oniichan has been hurrying to finish his grad school too so he and Kaho-neechan can finally get married. I want to help too, but I don’t know what groom’s sisters do to support their brothers… is all…”

“But Sakura…”

“I’m fine, Dad. I’m a very patient person. I’ll find him. Don’t worry… right, Oniichan?”

Touya shrugged. “Well, you haven’t dated anybody before all your life. Hell, you wouldn’t even look at any other guy around Tomoeda except for that Chinese brat who used to live next door to us…”

“He’s not a brat, Oniichan,” Sakura glared. “You’re just jealous of Syaoran because he’s a master of martial arts and he’s better in many sports than you are!”

“Oi, who told you that you can compare him to me, huh? I’m glad he moved out of Tomoeda. At least he wouldn’t be giving me a headache.”

“Please,” Sakura rolled her eyes. “You became a whole lot worse since Syaoran and his family moved out of Tomoeda. You got lucky that you’re able to win the heart of the one you’ve had a crush on since you were a kid. Do you see me complain about her? What about my happiness with Syaoran?”

“What? Don’t compare Kaho to that little twerp! She’s smart, beautiful, mature… unlike that kid who thinks he knows everything and thinks he’s all that. Grr… guys like him piss me off!”

“Touya, calm down,” Fujitaka warned him. “For once, please, share us some good and happy news regarding your life. I’m already stressed enough as it is.”

At that point, Sakura gave a gasp and gazed right at her father. “Dad, um… can I ask you something?”

“Sure thing, Sweetheart. What is it?” Fujitaka gave his usual grin.

“I… I was wondering if I can invite someone over for dinner…”

“Dinner, huh? A new friend?”

Sakura nodded. “Yup. A new friend. Well, I have to ask him about his schedule first…”

Touya raised an eyebrow. “Say that again? Did you say ‘him’?”

“Yes, I said ‘he,’” Sakura returned the glare.

“Is it Yamazaki? Dunno if his girlfriend would be happy about—”

“It’s not Yamazaki, Oniichan. Just…” Sakura tightened a fist and then closed her eyes. “Just trust me for once, Oniichan. I don’t have that many male friends, but I made a new one… yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“Y-yeah! He’s… he’s one of Yamazaki’s friends from… some other town… and yeah. He and I get along real well, and I want him to meet the family, so…”

Fujitaka gave a nod. “Take your time, Sakura. Just let me know when he is free, and I’ll be sure to take the night off for this dinner.”

“Oh, and Dad? When that dinner meeting comes, could you also prepare your famous, super-deliciously scrumptious Whisperjay Stew?”

Her father gave a chuckle. “Whisperjay Stew?”

“What the… do you know how long that dish takes to prepare? Are you giving Dad a heart attack or something?” Touya retorted.

“Touya, be quiet,” his father shouted in return. “If Sakura wants to have Whisperjay Stew for that special dinner, then she and her new friend will have Whisperjay Stew for dinner.” He turned to his daughter and grinned. “You got yourself a deal, dear.”

“Thanks so much, Dad! I love you!” Sakura gave a cheerful smile while Touya rolled his eyes.

“Seriously, this family has favoritism going on here.” The son shook his head and proceeded into finishing his breakfast while the father picked up today’s newspaper on the table and continued to read. Sakura, on the other hand, also finished the rest of her breakfast.

Touya got up from his seat. “I’m gonna take a shower before Sakura, and I head over to the Daidoujis across the street. Final rehearsal for later today.”

“Alright, Touya. You’re dismissed.” The oldest son quickly climbed upstairs to take a shower.

“So Dad,” Sakura broke the silence after finishing her waffles. “Are you going back to the university again today?”

“Not today, dear,” Fujitaka said. “I’ll be working on my thesis in my den, plus I have a meeting with my colleagues regarding our group project.”

“Oh? What’s your project about?”

“It was a unanimous decision. We decided to do a group analysis on the history and background of The Book of Keroberos.”

“The Book of Keroberos? Wouldn’t that be difficult?”

“Sakura, there is no such thing as an easy project for your doctorate, Sweetheart. Of course, it’ll be difficult.”

“Ah. Right, right.” She stood up and began collecting the dirty dishes from the table. “Say, Dad, can I ask you something? It’s about The Book of Keroberos.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“It’s true, right? That when a parent sets up their daughter with a guy for potential future marriage, that guy has to be a resident of Tomoeda, right?”

“Well, yes. The boy must either be born in Tomoeda, or that boy has lived in Tomoeda for at least five years. No lesser than that. That rule only applies when a parent sets her up with a boy. If the girl gets lucky and meets someone of her own without getting set up by the family, the boy can be an outsider.”

“Then… can I ask you something…?”

“What is it, Sakura?”

“Should… Should I finally find the whereabouts of Syaoran Li… would you… set me up with him?”

Just as Fujitaka was about to sip on his coffee cup, he ended up accidentally spitting it out. “S-Syaoran Li? Your childhood best friend from next door before?” Sakura nodded slowly. “My dear, that would be very difficult. I’ve lost contact with his parents and, believe me, I’ve tried searching for them while I was spending my guest lecturing at the University of Hong Kong. I do wish I could do a whole lot more but… unfortunately, it’s difficult to locate the Lis anywhere. After all, Syaoran’s father’s name is a very common name, and it’s going to take forever to narrow it into that one name.”

“But Dad… isn’t there any other way to find them in Hong Kong…?”

“And also, for me to set you up with Syaoran, his parents have to approve of it as well. You know how the rules go, Sakura.”

 

#

 

Meanwhile at the Tomoeda Inn Conference Room, where the movie cast and crew of _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ were already having their closed-door pre-production meeting, the very famous movie producer Yutaka Kichise, recently arrived in Tomoeda very early in the morning and was already discussing the set-up of the movie shoot. All of Tomoeda and even the meadows and forest areas will be used in the movie shoot and that the famous screenwriting couple, Toshifumi and Taeko Kashii, also wanted the feel of the entire movie to be completely local. In short, everything that they use from the clothing to the dishes they eat, as well as character gestures, should be adapted based on the local Tomoeda customs and gestures. Toshifumi gave a brief history that he was born and lived his first ten years as a child in Tomoeda. Contrary that he married a Tokyo city girl Taeko, even Taeko herself even mentioned that she briefly lived in Tomoeda for five years as a teenager before she took off for college and decided to live in the city.

In this case, the couple also emphasized that the costume designs for the movie will be designed by the world famous Daidouji Couture, personally designed by Sonomi Daidouji herself. Not only because she can create such stylish, hip, and cool designs that always seem to be always the trendsetter month after month, but the designer is also a Tomoeda native. Local talent, local creations.

During the briefing, Eriol whispered softly on to Meiling’s ear. “Hey… Meiling…”

“What?” Meiling responded in a soft whisper.

“Does Xiao know…?”

“Eh? About what?”

“About Toshifumi and Taeko Kashii… most especially Taeko Kashii…”

“Huh? I don’t think so. Why you ask?”

“Didn’t you know that Taeko is not Japanese? I mean, she’s a Japanese citizen now but her ethnicity…”

Meiling went to check on Syaoran, who was sitting next to her. He looked completely focused on the meeting and had the expression that he didn’t want to be disturbed. She then slowly scooted closer to Eriol. “What on earth are you on about?”

Eriol shifted his eyes in all directions, making sure that no one was eavesdropping. He even checked on Syaoran to be sure he wasn’t listening either.

“Taeko’s birth name is Jingmei Luo… she’s a cousin of Xiao’s mother.”

Meiling gave a soft gasp. “A-are you kidding me? Don’t lie, Eriol.”

“Wei told me about it this morning when Xiao was still asleep. The story of _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ , was based on actual events, somewhat, of their experiences in Tomoeda. Jingmei Luo and Xiao’s mom were foreign exchange students from Hong Kong during their high school years. They both went to college at Waseda University in Tokyo. It was there that Xiao’s mom met Xiao’s dad. Their romantic affair was mostly spent in Japan, but then his dad’s father died and that he had to inherit the business. Because of that, he decided to go back to Hong Kong and that his mom was willing to go back home with him. Jingmei Luo, on the other hand, stayed.”

“Wow… what family history…”

“They were in Hong Kong for awhile; then the family business became so profitable that they wanted to expand internationally. Japan became their first target, and they decided to move back to Tomoeda for the expansion. They were flying back and forth between Hong Kong and Japan while his mom was pregnant with the kids. The first two daughters were born in Hong Kong. The next two daughters were born in Tomoeda. And then Xiao himself was born in Hong Kong; then the entire family moved back to Tomoeda.”

“Hm… interesting…” Meiling began to rub her chin gently.

“It was supposed to be for good, but then there was a huge opportunity for expansion again in other regions in China that they decided to move back to Hong Kong. Xiao was around ten or eleven when they moved back… and then… well… you know what happened after that…” Meiling sighed sadly and nodded.

“And now Xiaolang doesn’t remember anything about his life here in Japan… Poor Xiaolang…” She gazed towards her ex-boyfriend and then gave another sad sigh.

“I asked Sakura last night during our dinner at Yamazaki’s house if she knew of the Kashii Couple. She didn't know either of the two, but she did say that there is a Kashii Family here in Tomoeda.”

“Hm,” Meiling began to wonder. “So… Taeko Kashii used to be Jingmei Luo…”

“She became a Japanese citizen so she can marry Toshifumi, her high school sweetheart. They met here in Tomoeda, and she was a foreign exchange student from Hong Kong. When she became a citizen, she changed her name to Taeko Rou. When she got married, she became Taeko Kashii.”

“And Xiaolang doesn’t know anything about this…?”

Eriol then gazed at Syaoran again, who was still immersed with the entire meeting. “I want to tell him, but it’s none of my business, Meiling. Maybe eventually Taeko Kashii will tell him one day.”

“Well, let’s talk about this later, Eriol. We still got a meeting here.” The two halted their conversation and went back to listening to the briefing.

The screenwriters continued to talk about their ideal setting. The movie soundtrack will be composed by a very few select most prestigious music composers in the industry. However, the movie will also include musical talent. Rather than hiring some famous pop stars, the Kashiis proposed that they should hire local Tomoeda talent to perform in the movie.

Syaoran’s interest peaked immediately once he heard the words “local Tomoeda talent” in the proposal. He then turned to Meiling and Eriol and whispered to them: “Isn’t Sakura, Yamazaki, and Tomoyo in a rock band or something like that?”

Eriol turned his head towards Syaoran. “Yeah. Cool Runnings or… Cool Rockers or…”

“Cool Rascals,” Meiling corrected him. She flashed a huge grin on her face. “That would be so cool! Seeing Tomoyo and Sakura and Yamazaki and whoever the rest of their band may be in the movie shoot. We get to hang out with them too!”

“Yeah,” Syaoran flashed a smile. “That would be awesome if they also get in the movie.”

The three remained silent again until the screenwriters moved to the discussion of the characters of the movie, as well as the plot of the story. Toshifumi then began: “ _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ was entirely Taeko’s idea. As we mentioned before, she and I did live here and graduated from Tomoeda High School, and a lot of the scenes here are based on real events, but the main concept of the entire story is mainly discovery of the importance of self, memories, and of course, the discovery of true love. In this story, we have an eighteen-year-old young man named Hinata Chiirou, who got himself lost into a mysterious town, like Tomoeda, with all of his memories completely erased. There, he meets a young girl some months younger than him, Sakura Horibe, whom she wants to help him recover his memories, but in the process, not only that he rediscovers his entire identity, his memories, but he also discovers his true connection to this mysterious town. Most of all, he also discovers his one true love all his life, who just happened to be right in front of him. Of course, there will be the usual teenage hijinks and drama, and it will be a classic sweet and tender teen romance story…”

Meiling grinned and nudged Syaoran. “Ne, Xiaolang? Isn’t it ironic that the main girl’s name is also Sakura?”

Syaoran slowly shifted his eyes towards her. “And your point…?”

“Just saying. That’s all.” She couldn’t get the grin off of her face and that she decided to remain silent. Syaoran, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes and ignored her.

The briefing continued. “As you know, our main cast consist of Li Xiaolang as Hinata Chiirou, new leading lady Mai Hirashiki as Sakura Kumamoto, Eriol Hiiragizawa as Takeru Yamanaka, and Meiling Li as Tomoko Domyouji. The rest of the roles should be in the first few pages of your screenplay, so be sure you make a run-through with your fellow actors so you can all get the feel of this entire movie’s mood…”

About an hour and a half later, the meeting was finally adjourned. They have to prepare for the upcoming press conference and that they have to head back to their quarters to get ready. Luckily for Syaoran, Eriol, and Meiling, they didn’t have to join the rest of the cast and crew at the inn and that they’re able to eat lunch with their new friends back home.

Just as the three, along with Wei, were about to exit the conference room, the fourth young actress, Mai Hirashiki, rushed to them, then quickly wrapped her arms around Syaoran’s right arm. “Xiao— I mean Li-kun! Where’ve you been last night? I missed you…”

“Uh… sleeping?” Syaoran answered in a sarcastic tone as he attempted to yank his arm away from her tight grip.

“I was thinking. All four of us should hang out together and do our read-throughs, don’t you think?”

“Uhh… well…” Eriol quickly placed his arm around Syaoran to stir him away from the flirty actress. “Maybe tonight… after the celebration and such… maybe over dinner…” He turned to the other two. “What do you guys say?”

“Sure, why not?” Meiling shrugged her shoulders. “How about you, Xiaolang?”

Obviously to Syaoran, being an actor in a leading role in this movie, he had no choice. His heart somehow yearned to hang out with someone else instead. In particular, that adorable green-eyed girl next door.

“Alrighty, sure.”

“Great!” Mai giggled happily. “I don’t know which place we should hang out, but it has to be somewhere private so no crazy rabid fangirls would disturb us, ne?”

“Sure,” Syaoran shrugged. “You pick the place.”

Quickly, Meiling grabbed both Syaoran’s and Eriol’s arms to drag them away. “Well… um… we must be going now… gotta get ready for the press conference!”

Mai giggled and waved. “Okay! See you later!”

They exited the inn, and all four gave a sigh of relief. No media to crowd around the Tomoeda Inn entrance. Not yet, anyway. They spotted a slick black Lexus, in which Wei was able to rent from the town’s rent-a-car service. Meiling took the shotgun while the two boys sat at the back seat.

Once they got in, the three young stars opened their screenplay to start skimming through their roles. They first reached the cast list along with the roles.

“You know, I’ve noticed something really strange about our character names,” Eriol said.

Syaoran and Meiling turned their heads toward him. “What?”

“The characters that Mai Hirashiki, Meiling, and myself are nearly similar to the names of our new friends.”

“Hm, now you mentioned it…” Meiling turned to her cast list. “You’re right.” She then began to read the character names. “Sakura Kumamoto, Takeru Yamanaka, Tomoko Domyouji…”

“Sakura Kinomoto, Takashi Yamazaki, Tomoyo Daidouji…” Syaoran stated the similarities between the names. “Yeah, talk about coincidence.”

“Ah, I really like your character name, Xiaolang,” Meiling giggled. “How cool-sounding is Hinata Chiirou?”

“Haha, yeah,” Syaoran chuckled. “I like it too.” He also noticed another feature regarding the name. “Sure is weird how the way ‘Chiirou’ was written is the same way I write my first name…”

“Hey, you’re right, Xiaolang!” Meiling gasped. Then she began to ponder while murmuring: “Now where have I heard of that name ‘Chiirou’ from…?”

Wei interrupted them while he remained his gaze towards the road. “Here is what you three will be doing from this point. You get dressed, suit up for the upcoming press conference. There should be a cast and crew free lunch at this place called Mooncastle Diner, but as for the three of you, you are also invited to a fan meet and greet luncheon with the Wolfpups and the Moonies.

“Oh?” Meiling gave a puzzled look. “I’m invited too? I don’t have an official fanclub here at Tomoeda.”

“There’s also the Xiao-Ling Pairing Fanclub also…”

“Eh?!” She and Syaoran shrieked in shock. “A pairing fanclub exists too?”

“It’s strange, but yes, you do have a pairing fanclub. Although everyone knows that you are no longer together, they still appreciate the two of you for your talents and your friendship and camaraderie with each other.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet, Wei,” Meiling chuckled. “I feel honored!”

“Yeah, thanks,” Syaoran gave a slight grin.

Eriol gave a sad sigh. “Oh, pity. We don’t even get to hang out with Kinomoto-san, Daidouji-san, and Yamazaki-san at all this entire day?”

“Don’t worry, Master Eriol, Yamazaki knows our schedule. I’ve spoken with him this morning. The locals still don’t know that we arrived here yesterday, therefore no one knows that we’ve already met three locals last night.”

“Four,” Meiling corrected. “Remember that writer girl, Naoko Yanagisawa? Don’t forget her too.”

“Ah, she will be also at the fan meet and greet luncheon, Miss Meiling,” Wei reminded her. “She’s one of the main writers of this Tomoeda Youth Official Blog website so she will be writing stories about the fan meet and greet and she will also be the one assigned to be at the press conference to ask you questions, just like the rest of the media.”

“At least we’ve got Yanagisawa there,” Syaoran gave a slight frown. “I appreciate the fan meet and greet events but I get nervous at the same time. I shouldn’t be thinking about my fans being obsessive and rabid, I know…”

“Considering that the Tomoeda Branch Wolfpups president is the only one among your list of fanclub presidents who has a boyfriend, maybe the Tomoeda Wolfpups would be a whole lot more subtle than the rest of the other Wolfpups around the country.”

“I hope you’re right about that, Eriol.”

Moments later, they arrive at the neighborhood of Hanaten Avenue, the location of the neighborhood where their new friends from last night met. Wei drove the car towards the huge iron gate leading to the Daidouji residence. He rang the intercom doorbell to identify themselves and their reason for being there. Wei and world-famous fashion designer Sonomi Daidouji, the proprietor of the Daidouji Household already made arrangements that he is allowed to park their rental car in the Daidouji premises so no one would suspect if they see a fancy-looking car parked in front of the Yamazaki Residence.

“We must hurry,” Wei said as he and the three teens exited the car. At the front of the Daidouji House stood Sonomi Daidouji, still looking as sharp and sophisticated as ever.

“Ah, Daidouji-san!” The three teens greeted their favorite designer with open arms.

“Welcome to Tomoeda, kids,” Sonomi gave a light chuckle. “You people are so sneaky, arriving in Tomoeda last night instead of today.”

“Director Terada was really paranoid with the paparazzi and all that, so he decided for us to travel here yesterday,” Eriol quickly explained.

“My daughter sent me a text of your arrival last night and that I had to take the earliest train travel from Tokyo to here. I just arrived here an hour ago.” She then opened the door behind her. “Come on in. Your outfits for the press conference is ready to go!”

“Wow,” Syaoran showed enthusiasm. “You have our outfits done already? Sweet!”

“I’m so glad that Tomoyo just happened to be one of the first people you met upon your arrival. Thank goodness.”

They entered the house and then Sonomi directed them to another chamber, where she uses to work on her designs, sewing, and all the like. “This is my official home studio, everyone! All my hard work as an amateur designer began right in this very place. My husband was so sweet and supportive of my career goals. We now have everything that we wanted including a child of our very own, but my husband would also like to have a son as well.”

“Ne,” Meiling changed the subject. “We never really hear about your husband…”

“Oh, he currently lives overseas in England to expand the Daidouji Entertainment empire. He does fly back here for special occasions, such as Tomoyo’s birthday, Christmas, and also works here at home in the summer. Apparently he can’t come home this year because he’s working hard opening new toy stores in Ireland. We all understand.” She then turned to her uniformed maids. “Please, get the baths ready for our guests.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The maids bowed to her as they headed out to get the baths ready for the three teens. Another set of maids entered with a tray of tea and tea biscuits. Sonomi invited them to the tea table, where they are now indulging in a few refreshments.

“So, aside from Tomoyo, who else did you meet?”

“We met your two neighbors from across the street,” Meiling answered.

“Across the street… I’m guessing… Yamazaki and Kinomoto?”

“Yup. Takashi Yamazaki and Sakura Kinomoto. They were harvesting night berries when we met them.”

“Oh!” Sonomi gave a chuckle. “So it was their turn to have night berry harvest duties. I hope Tomoyo didn’t have any trouble doing her harvesting on her own. You see whenever our family is selected to have night berry harvest duties, the two of us always harvest them together. Last night was the first time harvesting by herself but I’m glad Sakura-chan and Takeshi-kun were there with her.” She took a sip of her tea and then sighed. She also displayed a rather melancholic expression on her face. “Oh, Nadeshiko… if only you could see our girls today…”

“Nadeshiko?” The three teens simultaneously asked regarding the name.

“Oh!” Sonomi gave a shy chuckle. “I’m sorry about that, I’m being so nostalgic. Let me explain.” She took a bite of her cracker until she chewed and swallowed. “Nadeshiko Amamiya was my cousin, but most of all, my best friend… my only best friend… since we were in pre-school, right here in Tomoeda. We pretty much did everything together… we even found ourselves future husbands too, but then… sudden things happened... and the next thing I knew… she was gone…”

“Oh,” Syaoran sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that, Daidouji-san.”

“Nadeshiko was also Sakura’s mother, you know.”

“Oh!” The three teens gasped in surprise.

“That explains why your daughter and Sakura are best friends?” Meiling said. “That’s really cool… Your sisterly friendship even extended to the next generation too!”

“You could say that Meiling,” Sonomi chuckled. “In high school, it was only the two of us; then we befriended two exchange students from Hong Kong. One of them went by Jingmei Luo. The other was Ieran Chin. We became our very own little clique with just four fun, easygoing girls who didn’t have a care in the world except for our dreams and our goals. I wish we’d still be together here, living happily with our husbands and our families, but you know, we also have our own professions and other goals too. Jingmei stayed in Tokyo to pursue her creative writing while the rest of us three went back to Tomoeda. When we got married and raised families, we even decided to live in the same neighborhood. Ieran and her family used to live in the house across the street, where Yamazaki currently lives now. Of course, Nadeshiko and her family lived next door to them…”

Syaoran poured more tea in his teacup as Sonomi continued on. “Did I ever tell you? Maybe I didn’t, but I will anyway. I pitched a few ideas for _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ when Jingmei— wait, she’s Taeko now— was gathering ideas for the script. I had a lot of fun, that’s for sure…”

Eriol and Meiling quickly gazed at each other, remembering what they talked about during the meeting regarding the screenwriter’s past and her relationship with Syaoran’s mother. This Ieran Chin that Sonomi must be Syaoran’s mother. Still, does Syaoran even know all this himself? They knew that it was rude to stick into anybody’s personal business but both really wanted to tell him about his family connections towards Tomoeda and the people. Now they know new things now: The screenwriter Jingmei Luo, alias Taeko Kashii, and Syaoran’s mother, assuming that her maiden name was Ieran Chin, are cousins. Their favorite designer Sonomi Daidouji has met the Chinese cousins in high school. Also, Sonomi Daidouji was lifelong best friends with the late Nadeshiko Amamiya, Sakura Kinomoto’s mother. To add it all up together, The screenwriter, the fashion designer, the mysterious woman who used to live across the street, and the mother of Li Xiaolang hung out with each other in high school and partially in college.

Conclusion: Li Xiaolang was a long-time resident of Tomoeda.

They even turned towards Syaoran, who was again, focused on Sonomi’s stories and not even aware of his current surroundings. At that point, one of the maids came in to the studio.

“Ma’am, the baths are ready.”

“Well then,” Sonomi smiled and stood up. “Your baths are ready, kids.”

“Thanks so much, Daidouji-san!”

“Oh, just call me Sonomi, kids. And you can call my daughter Tomoyo also. Both of us insist.” The three teens waved at their designer as they made their way to the baths.

 

#

 

Hours later, Syaoran, Eriol, now wearing his usual contact lenses instead of his spectacles whenever he’s not in the public eye, and Meiling spent their lunch hour with the Tomoeda Branch of the Club Wolfpups, Club Moonies, and this new fanclub that seems to be only available in Tomoeda: The Xiao-Ling Pairing Fanclub. They had a meet and greet session, signing autographs and taking photos, and of course, the long-awaited luncheon that was catered exclusively by Mooncastle Diner. It was a good thing that Touya and Yukito were given the day off on that day for they still have to rehearse for their performance right after the press conference.

Speaking of Touya and Yukito, their small local band, Cool Rascals, were also having their rehearsal in the same location as the luncheon. The press conference will take place at the amphitheater area at Tomoeda Penguin Park. The meet and greet was only a few feet away from the amphitheater. The Cool Rascals rehearsal was also nearby.

Chiharu and Rika finally met with their idols, and of course, their special guest Meiling. The pigtailed Wolfpups president knew that her boyfriend Takashi Yamazaki was nearby and felt proud that her boyfriend was about to get lucky when she introduces a famous celebrity to him. Rika, on the other hand, hoped that Eriol wasn’t particularly interested in any other girl in showbiz and that she, like all the other Moonies president around the country, they all have their personal ulterior motives. The Xiao-Ling Pairing Fanclub were probably the most gracious sets of fans that both Syaoran and Meiling have met. They didn’t care whether they already broke up, as long as they still remained in good terms, are still friends, and would still be working together in their future projects, it was alright for them. A new rumor did surface among them that Syaoran is starting to get involved with his new co-star for the upcoming movie, Mai Hirashiki, which is, as many in the industry know, is completely false.

“Me, get involved with that clingy chick? Hell no…” Syaoran rolled his eyes once he was questioned about it by fans. He was just finishing up his plate of okonomiyaki and sipped on his can of unsweetened iced green tea.

“Whew,” The Xiao-Ling Fanclub sighed in relief. One of the female fans spoke of the subject.

“Even if Mai Hirashiki mentioned in one of her magazine interviews that you and her are really close?”

Meiling, who was sitting next to Syaoran, simply laughed. “That girl has too many dead cells in her head if you ask me. Sure, she’s a very talented actress and very pretty too. But seriously she’s so full of it.”

“But we’re just curious though. When did you and Mai Hirashiki started to hang out with each other?”

Syaoran gave his usual sarcastic reply. “Uh… yesterday?”

“So is she really that bad of a person?”

“Once you get to know her personally,” Meiling said. “Of course she’ll be nice to all the fans. I mean it’s part of her celebrity facade. But you know, we shouldn’t judge based on what people say about her. You’ll just have to find a way to get to know her and then you be the judge from there.”

“Huh. True…” At that point, Chiharu Mihara arrived at the table to meet up with the idols with sheets of paper on one hand. Rika Sasaki, the Moonies president, was already dragging Eriol with her by the arm, also leading to the same direction.

“Well, Li-kun,” Chiharu grinned, “it’s almost time for the press conference!”

Once Syaoran and Meiling finished their lunch, they immediately popped in one mint in their mouth to freshen their breaths. “Yes, Mihara?” Syaoran asked curiously.

“We have a surprise for you!”

“We?”

“As in the Tomoeda Wolfpups, of course! Come on!” Without even giving a second, she quickly took Syaoran by the arm.

“H-hey, what gives? Slow down…”

“You too, Meiling, come with us!”

Eriol shrugged as his reaction to his two friends and also noticed the sheets of paper on Rika’s hand. “Hey… Sasaki… what’s that in your hand—”

“Oh you’ll see, Hiiragizawa-kun. Come on!” Though still hesitant, they knew there was no fighting the girl presidents back. They let them drag over to another area of the park.

Much to a surprise for Syaoran and Eriol, they spotted their friends they met yesterday at their destination along with their instruments. Meiling recognized them as the Cool Rascals, one of the local bands who will be performing right after the press conference at the amphitheater. The band members were already eating some kind of bento boxes at their own table.

On one end of the table were Sakura and Tomoyo facing each other, enjoying and exchainging some of their snacks within their bento boxes. On the other end are the three males, Touya, Yukito, and Yamazaki, also enjoying their lunch set as well.

“You’re so silly, Tomoyo,” Sakura giggled as she nibbled on her sushi. “There’s no way…”

“Way!” Tomoyo winked.

“No way! Not ever! It’s just impossible!”

“Way!” Tomoyo winked once more. “You gotta be positive when it comes to these things, Sakura. I mean, it’s bad enough your dad’s becoming really desperate to set you up with a bunch of no-named losers, so at least, try to have some hope in finally winning the heart of that special someone! I’m mean, check this out. I had a dream last night too, and it said that by the end of the summer, you and I are going to find our true loves. We won’t have to be set up by our parents anymore, ne?”

“At least, you got lucky with Ken Bunchin… for awhile…” Sakura gave a sigh. “That should be some accomplishment. You were able to stay in a mutual relationship with a boy that long. Look at me. It’d only take me one night and the next day; Touya will be running madly around town ready to rip off his head…”

“That’s what big brothers are for, Sakura,” Tomoyo giggled.

“But seriously… we’ll finally meet our one true loves by the end of summer? I mean how is that possible, Tomoyo? We always see the same kids everyday here in Tomoeda.”

“Are you sure about that…?” Right then, Tomoyo pointed her thumb to the direction of the amphitheater.

“Wait.. No way…” Sakura found herself laughing. “You can’t be serious… those teen idols?”

“Oh the way Li Xiaolang looks at you… like he was completely hypnotized by you… wherever you go, he comes along too. It’s like.. He would never leave your side… I think Li Xiaolang has a thing for you!”

“But… he would never…”

“Oh come on now, Sakura, you were practically drooling over him once you first saw the magazine I gave you yesterday. You couldn’t stop gazing at his beautiful amber eyes and that killer smile of his… come on, you had it really bad for him, Sakura. I mean, what if he also has a thing for you too, huh?”

“Um… don’t you think that’s a little too early to conclude that, Tomoyo? I mean we just met…”

“Uh-huh, right. And I suppose your little moment with that princely hot cutie at your cherry blossom tree shouldn’t give you any signals?”

Sakura quickly blushed immediately thinking about that rather embarrassing moment. On the other hand, how on earth would Tomoyo know all this?

“Wait a minute, how’d you know about the cherry tree incident?”

“Tee-hee,” Tomoyo giggled. “Eriol texted Meiling, and then Meiling told me about it this morning. See, Chiharu was coming over to Yamazaki’s house and you know how she wasn’t supposed to know that Li-kun and Hiiragizawa-kun are staying at his house… yet… they had to hide. Apparently, you happened to be in the tree too and Li-kun was already ahead of him, so you three had a little camping moment in the tree?”

“I almost fell twice in that tree…” Sakura sighed. “That was so humiliating… and in front of Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa too… stupid Tak…”

“Silly Sakura!” Tomoyo couldn’t help herself but laugh. “You’re so adorable; you know that? Of course, the brave and gallant Li-kun and Hiiragizawa-kun did save you from getting your bones broken, ne?” Even that little fact still did not pep Sakura back to her optimistic self.

Just as they finished their lunch, they heard a familiar voice calling out loudly at their direction. Sakura and Tomoyo noticed Yamazaki sighing while Yukito daintily cleaned up his bento box, minding his own business. Touya, on the other hand, looked rather annoyed and suspicious as always.

“Takashi! There you are!”

Yamazaki then glanced at the rest of the Cool Rascals band. “Here we go…”

Once they spotted Chiharu Mihara, she also dragged Syaoran by the arm as well, followed by Rika and Eriol. Meiling just followed them from behind. She gave the two girls a shrug as her signal.

Yamazaki stood up from his seat. “Ah. Chi-chan.” From out of the blue, Chiharu punched her boyfriend on the shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Now that the awesomest Li Xiaolang has arrived today, you’ve been avoiding me? What on earth is wrong with you? You have no idea how much I’ve been waiting for this day and the introduce such a famous celebrity to you— courtesy of your beloved!”

“If only you knew…” Syaoran muttered a few words.

“Oh, did you say something, Li-kun?” Chiharu suddenly changed her expression from the angry girlfriend to the happy innocent fangirl.

“Huh? No, nothing,” Syaoran blinked his eyes.

At this point, Touya and Yukito got up from their seats. “Well, we gotta go pick up Kaho and Nakuru at the library,” Touya said in a rather dry tone. “We’ll be back before the performance.”

Sakura and Tomoyo waved at the two older boys. “See you guys later!”

Yukito then grinned towards the celebrity guests. “Before we forget, I’m Yukito Tsukishiro of the Mooncastle Diner. My grandfather’s diner was the one who catered the luncheon. Hope you enjoyed it.”

Eriol grinned with a smile. “Your okonomoyaki lunch pack was absolutely delicious. Please send our regards to your family and the staff of your diner.”

“Will do,” Yukito gave a salute. “This is my best friend, Touya Kinomoto. He’s a bit rough on the edges, but he’s a nice guy—”

“What do you mean by rough on the edges, Yukito?” Touya protested as Yukito quickly placed his arm around the hotheaded best friend.

“Well, we must be going now. See you later!” Yukito quickly lead Touya away from the table, knowing that Touya may say something unnecessary that may cause more trouble.

“Anyway, Taka my love,” Chiharu suddenly released Syaoran’s arm, with Syaoran even rubbing it gently from its tight grip. She then wrapped an arm around her boyfriend, being the good girlfriend she could be. “The Wolfpups and I have a special gift for the cool and hot Li Xiaolang— and Rika has a special gift for Hiiragizawa-kun, and she would need your help also!”

Yamazaki scratched his head. “Wait… your gift to your favorite idols involve me in it?”

Syaoran and Eriol gave rather puzzled looks while Meiling tried to restrain herself from laughing by covering her mouth. “But of course! You’re not just my boyfriend because I fell in love with you, you know? You’re also the stepping stone that would lead me to get my personal favors fulfilled too!”

“Erm… say what?” Yamazaki blinked in shock while Syaoran interrupted by giving a soft cough.

“Mihara,” Syaoran said, “you do know that you are the only president of the all the other presidents of the Club Wolfpups throughout Japan who has a boyfriend, right?”

“Oh, Li-kun…” Chiharu muttered with a gasp, looking rather nervous.

“You’re not gonna introduce your wonderful boyfriend to us? And the rest of your friends too…” At this point Yamazaki realized that his girlfriend still doesn’t know of his new-found relationship between Syaoran and Eriol that he decided to play actor as well.

“Oh!” Chiharu gasped, then cleared her throat. “Well, Li-kun, Hiiragizawa-kun, Meiling-chan, I’m sorry for being rude! Anyway, this is one of Tomoeda’s finest local bands, the Cool Rascals. This here is my idiot lying S-O-B of a boyfriend named Takashi Yamazaki. He makes up too much crap most of the time but somehow he still has his way of making me fall in love with him even more! Anyway, he’s the lead guitarist in the Cool Rascals band. Yukito is the bass player and Touya plays the drums.”

Just as he was playing along, Syaoran extended his hand as Yamazaki shook it. “It’s… it’s an honor to meet you, Li-san…. Hiiragizawa-san… Li-sa—”

“Meiling’s fine,” the teen actress chuckled as they all exchanged handshakes.

“And then,” Chiharu continued on, “these two lovely girls over there are Tomoyo Daidouji and Sakura Kinomoto. Tomoyo is the one and only darling daughter of the world-famous Sonomi Daidouji of the Daidouji Couture fame! Sakura here is one of Tomoeda’s finest girl athletes— and a daughter of a university professor too! She and Touya-san, that guy you just met earlier, are sister and brother. Tomoyo’s the Cool Rascals’ lead vocalist and Sakura is the keyboardist.”

Tomoyo went first by extending a handshake to Syaoran, Eriol, and Meiling. Eriol was the first to break the ice. “Would it be trouble if I call you Tomoyo-san instead?”

“Just Tomoyo would be fine, Hiiragizawa-kun…”

“Please call me Eriol.”

Once it was Sakura’s turn, it was Syaoran’s turn to break the ice. “Pleasure to meet you, Saku— Kinomoto-san.”

“Please, call me Sakura, if it’s okay…” Sakura gave a slight grin. “I mean, it’d be weird if you call out Kinomoto and then me and my brother Touya would be responding to you… you know?”

“Ha ha ha, good point,” Syaoran chuckled.

“Good to meet you and Hiiragizawa-kun and Meiling-san. Hope you all enjoy your stay here in Tomoeda, Li-kun.”

“Thank you. Looking forward to it.”

Right then, Chiharu cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Anyway. Here.” Quickly, she handed the pile of paper towards Yamazaki. “Please play this and then the Wolfpups and I are gonna sing— for our dearest Li Xiaolang!”

Yamazaki raised an eyebrow to take a look at the paper. It turned out to be a three-page music sheet with the title “O Little Wolf, Let It Be Me.”

Sakura and Tomoyo moved closer to Yamazaki to read the music sheets. The boyfriend raised an eyebrow of doubt right at his girlfriend. “’O Little Wolf, Let It Be Me’? You want me to play this while you sing this… to Li Xiaolang?”

“Well yeah. We won’t sound good if we don’t have any form of instrumental accompaniment! And your guitar’s just in that case right there—” Chiharu pointed at two instrument cases at the grass.

“What? I ain’t playing this…”

“Oh come on, Takashi, please….? Pretty please?”

“Hell no!”

“And I’m telling you play it or I’m gonna cream you, got that?!” Chiharu just couldn’t take no for an answer and decided to pull his ear.

“Ouch… ow… that hurts, Chi-chan… come on, leggo…” As the couple continued to argue, Rika then dashed to Tomoyo and also shoved her music sheets.

“Me too! The Moonies have a song for our darling Eriol too! Can you play the music to this too so we can sing?”

“Huh…?” Tomoyo blinked. This time, she and Sakura began gazing at Rika’s music sheet.

“’I Want to Stroll with Eriol’…?” The two girls read the title.

“Yup!” Rika giggled. “It’s a really catchy title, ne?” Quickly she wrapped her arm around Eriol’s own arm. “Darling Eriol would surely going to love it, especially when there’s some music accompaniment with it… ne?”

Tomoya began to scratch her temple gently with her finger while Sakura simply gazed at Tomoyo, hoping her best friend would make the decision if they had to play the accompaniment or not. Sakura did her own sight reading through the notes, but somehow the words seriously turned her off.

While the couple still continued to argue, Sakura took a deep breath and raised her hand. Her simple gesture caught Syaoran’s attention, who was still acting as if they’ve never met before.

“What is it, Sakura?”

“I’ll… I’ll play the music accompaniment for both the Wolfpups and the Moonies,” Sakura swallowed nervously.

“Well now, really?” Eriol gave a grin. “But I heard that you’re a keyboardist?”

Sakura then headed to where the instrument cases were and picked up Yamazaki’s acoustic guitar. She then walked past the couple and simply whispered: “It’s okay, Tak. I’ll play. I’ll just have to borrow your guitar though.”

“You can play the guitar?” Meiling’s eyes opened wide in surprise.

“Yup! I decided to be the keyboardist because none of the other band members can play the keyboards as well as I do. I play guitar also. I learned it on my own because my dad told me that he and Mom were both guitarists. So yeah!”

And with that, Chiharu and Yamazaki finally stopped the arguing and then sighed in relief. Tomoyo decided to become the human stand by holding on to the music sheets so Sakura can read them.

“Gather all your Wolfpups and Moonies, Chiharu, Rika,” Sakura chuckled. “The music accompaniment is now ready.”

Moments later, both fanclubs came together at their spot and Sakura began playing Yamazaki’s guitar while reading through the music sheets. The Wolfpups sang first and then followed by the Moonies. All in all, both Syaoran and Eriol were delighted with both of the fanclub songs and thanked both their fangroups.

In reality, little did anyone know, both Syaoran and Eriol were more delighted with Sakura’s guitar-playing skills rather than the songs themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I was going to write the press conference scene and the "real" introduction of The Cool Rascals local band, but decided to have a bit of an extra scene so that our visitors would learn more of Tomoeda, its quirky culture, and the three locals they met (Sakura, Tomoyo, and Yamazaki), and how they would react from all of it. That's all for now, stay tuned for the next chapter!


	6. Press Conference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie's first press conference at Tomoeda gives Naoko a chance to write her best work that would help her get accepted into her dream college, the highly-prestigious Todai (University of Tokyo). Meanwhile, Sakura begins to feel something more for the teen idol Li Xiaolang, and her situation did not help with Tomoyo eventually finding out of her best friend's sudden attraction to the handsome amber-eyed celebrity. Then, during the late night hours after the very busy festivities earlier, Sakura found herself drowning in the sea of love when Syaoran began to knock on her window, inviting himself in her room. How would Sakura react when the teen idol begins to show some intense flirtation towards her? Would she finally forget about her long-lost love Syaoran, and let Li Xiaolang enter her heart?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Card Captor Sakura © CLAMP/Kodansha. The only thing I own here is this fanfic's plot and whatever original characters I may create here.

In just an hour, the press conference was about to begin. All of the cast and crew had to report back at Tomoeda Inn for their preparations and such. Though the public was still aware that the press conference was going to take place this weekend to avoid all the paparazzi hype, this afternoon was the afternoon where only the select, most trusted media representatives were selectively invited and be present. The Tomoeda Amphitheater stage had its wall draped with logos of sponsors of this press conference, just like any other press conference known. Many of the media representatives from reporters, journalists, photographers, and cameramen quickly filled the first five rows of the theater.

The local Tomoeda media representatives were given special passes to sit all the way at the front row. The young blogger and aspiring writer, Naoko Yanagisawa, was given the highest honor to be the one to represent the youth of Tomoeda. As the movie _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ was indeed a movie garnered towards the younger audience from early adolescent to young adults, there had to be some fellow youth present among the media as well.

Meanwhile, the Cool Rascals band, along with other invited local talent, were backstage, preparing for their performances while others are out of the area to rehearse their music in peace. It was a good thing that the Tomoeda Convention Center was only across the street from Tomoeda Park. That was where Sakura, Tomoyo, Yamazaki, Touya, and Yukito headed at to warm up their instruments and to rehearse their parts of the music.

“I can’t believe you actually played backup music for those two rabid fanclubs, Kinomoto,” Yamazaki made his statement. “I know I was being mean earlier but no way in hell that I’m gonna be giving favors to those fangirls just for their obsession for some hot celebrity dude…”

“I gotta admit that it’s catchy,” Sakura chuckled, now warming up her fingers on her keyboard repeatedly. “Plus, Li-kun and Hiiragi— I mean Eriol-kun enjoyed it.”

“Which part did those boys actually enjoyed, huh?” Tomoyo nudged her on the side. “The fangirls’ singing or you playing the guitar?” Immediately, she and Yamazaki burst into laughter thinking of that question.

"Hoe..." Sakura gave a slight blush. “I don’t think my guitar playing has anything to do with it. Taka should have been the one to play it. He’s way better than me.”

"You give me too much credit, Kinomoto," Yamazaki grinned, gently scratching the back of his head.

“Although I feel really bad for Yamazaki though,” Tomoyo sighed, patting her buddy on the shoulder. “You and Chiharu are such a cute couple together, but then things go really bad whenever Li Xiaolang’s name comes up in the air…”

Touya joined in the conversation. “I feel for you too, kid. Hell, it happened to me last night. That twerp— I mean that Chinese actor guy just happened to appear right outside our fence and then Kaho and Nakuru suddenly became drooling hound dogs begging their master to feed them. Frickin’ hell that really ticked me off! I can’t wait to get my hands on that brat and get rid of that damn smirk right off of his face!”

“You’re overreacting, Oniichan,” Sakura rolled her eyes. “Kaho-nee is such a kind and devoted girl who would never dream of leaving her one true love just because of some idol celebrity. She’s way smarter than that.”

“Oh yeah? Well, last night—”

“Now, now, Touya,” Yukito interrupted. “I did catch up to them and helped them snap back into reality, ne? I’m sure they won’t ever get near the poor kid again.”

Touya snapped his head right at his best friend. “How could you be so calm about all this? Your fiancee actually acted all cute trying to act like she’s sixteen once she saw him in an instant! One of these days she’s gonna leave you for him if you’re not gonna be careful!”

“Touya,” Yukito patted him on the shoulder. “You need to learn how to be more trusting towards others, especially with the ones you truly love the most, ne? Nakuru is one thing, and of course, there’s Sakura too.”

“Feh. Whatever.”

“’Whatever’ is not going to help, Touya. You just calm down and if you’re really that worried, why not talk to Kaho-san about it? She’s an open and understanding person.”

Just as the two best friends were about to continue with their arguments, they hear their practice room door open. Naoko Yanagisawa, carrying her laptop backpack and wearing a special press badge around her neck, waved right at them.

“Hey, it’s Naoko!” Sakura exclaimed. She returned the wave as she and Tomoyo approached her. “Hey, are you ready for the press conference?”

Naoko smiled and patted her backpack. “Locked and loaded.”

“Wow, so you’re going to just type in your laptop as you go, Naoko?” Tomoyo asked curiously.

“Yup. I’m faster typing than writing anyway. And it’s easier on a laptop than with a tablet or a mobile phone too…”

“So, what kinds of questions do you plan on asking the cast and crew, Naoko?” Sakura asked.

“Plenty,” Naoko simply answered. “Because the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog only caters to everything and anything Tomoeda. Of course, all of my questions to the cast and crew will be tied to Tomoeda. I don’t do tabloid-style news reporting. I leave that to the tabloid reporters.”

“Awesome!” Sakura grinned. “So, is it just gonna be you who will represent the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog? Or are there more?”

Naoko shrugged. “There’s two more who will be with me. Apparently I’m not comfortable enough to have those two around…”

“How come?” Tomoyo asked.

“Because their names happened to be Mayuka Sugihara and Chinami Ayuzawa—”

“Eh?” Sakura and Tomoyo exclaimed simultaneously. “The two teenage gossip bloggers?”

Naoko sighed. “I don’t want them to ruin the dignity of the Tomoeda Youth by asking nonsense personal questions to Li-kun, Hiiragizawa-kun, Meiling-chan, and all the other cast members.”

“I’ve read some of their articles,” Yamazaki interrupted. “They look like they’re writing tabloid-style fanfics— and it’s supposed to be a youth community blog?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, Yamazaki,” Naoko reminded. “I really do hope I would get picked by the cast and crew to have my chance of asking a few questions. It’s very important and maybe this would help uplift our fellow youth to be more positive with themselves, with each other, and with our town too.”

Tomoyo gave Naoko a hug. “And this is why you are the best youth blogger Tomoeda has, Naoko. At least your writing isn’t crap compared to the others. Yours actually have meaning and purpose.”

“Thanks, Tomoyo,” Naoko grinned. “I’m gonna give all I’ve got to make this story the most unforgettable feature story in the history of the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog. I’m gonna use this as my key presentation to my admission to Todai’s journalism program when I graduate next year. It’s gonna be so awesome, a good, well worth read. Sure it may not win any journalism awards, but it could be the greatest piece an amateur minor-aged journalism blogger could ever write. I can’t wait for this!”

“And we’ll be rooting for you, Naoko!” Sakura cheered happily.

“For sure!” Tomoyo seconded.

“Thanks, you guys! I really appreciate it!” The three embraced each other as Sakura began changing the subject.

“So, you got some questions too for Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa and Meiling Li too?”

“I got plenty, Sakura. Actually, my main target for this would be Li Xiaolang.”

“Hoe? Why Li-kun?”

Naoko gently tapped her chin. “There’s something about him… I really can’t quite put a finger to it, but… there’s something… awfully familiar about him… and these questions are going to help me determine that particular familiarity.”

Both Sakura and Tomoyo began to contemplate of the vision of Li Xiaolang in their heads. Tomoyo may have caught some familiarity with the handsome actor and gave a slight grin. Sakura, trying not too think too much of the actor after that embarrassing moment she had with him this morning, and once she pictured the entire vision of him, she began to blush heavily.

"Sakura, what's with the blushing, hm?" Tomoyo caught her best friend's strawberry pink cheeks, along with her usual smirk.

"H-hoe... I don't know what you're talking about, Tomoyo."

"You're thinking about him, aren't you, Sakura?"

The emerald-eyed naive girl stared right at her best friend. "Y-you're imagining things... and it's really hot outside, so that explains the red."

Tomoyo nudged her blushing best friend on the side. "Oh come on now, Sakura, you can't deny that Li Xiaolang is hot and gorgeous... and he's staying right next door to you, hmmm? Hohohohohoho~"

Quickly, Sakura hushed Tomoyo. "Not so loud, Tomoyo, please!"

“Whoa, you feel that way too, Yanagizawa?” Yamazaki joined in the conversation, ignoring Tomoyo's constant teasing of Sakura regarding the young idol.

"So you feel the same about him too, Yamazaki?"

“For sure, yo," he nodded. "Last night, the three of us had a long chat before we went to bed. You know, the whole man-to-man icebreakers and all that. I’ve been keeping an eye on Li while I was getting to know him more and there’s so much of him that yells out _Syao-chan_ right at me, but I don't wanna jump to conclusions, you know?"

" _Syao-chan_?" Sakura gasped, covering her mouth at the same time.

"W-wait, Kinomoto, let's not say anything yet. But anyway, _Syao-chan_ or not, it’s seriously clear, whether Li denies it or not, he’s lived here in Tomoeda sometime in his past. He has to, man. I mean, who the hell has heard of a Chinese teen idol speaking Japanese like he's a Tomoeda local, huh?”

"Unless that Chinese teen happens to be Syaoran Li..." Naoko nodded in agreement. "You notice that about him too, Yamazaki? What if... what if..."

Sakura gave a very perplexed expression on her face. “Li-kun... has so many things that reminded me of Syaoran… his eyes… his hair color… and… ah, too long to list.”

“See, this is what I'm talking about!" Naoko made her announcement. "One of the questions that I will be asking will be dealing with his reason for taking the role of the main character of the movie _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_. He has never done any sentimental slice-of-life type of films before, so this will be his very first. I just hope one of the reporters would ask him that if I don't get called… or if I get lucky enough to get picked to ask the question.”

“Eh? You already know how the story of the movie goes?” Tomoyo asked curiously.

“No, but the boss gave me some general info regarding the movie. The interesting part also is that this would be the first time that he will be playing a role of a teen Japanese guy. I mean in his past movies, all action and martial arts and all that, he was either a Chinese warrior or a Korean agent, even the movies produced in Japan. It’s quite interesting.”

“Waah, I wanna watch this movie!” Sakura cheered happily.

“You don’t even watch movies, shrimp beast,” Touya made his own remark.

“Who asked you, Oniichan?” Sakura glared. “Call me shrimp beast again and you die!” Touya did not return her words with more words but instead chuckled at her reaction. “But yeah, I would really love to watch the movie once it’s finally released. I wanna show my support for Li-kun and Hiiragi— Eriol-kun, and of course, Meiling too!”

“By the way,” Yamazaki spoke. “That girl who will be playing the main girl of the movie, Mai Hirashiki. I stopped by the groceries earlier and then on my way I passed by the newsstands and there were tabloids on sale that had one of the main headlines saying ‘Mai Hirashiki: Has Li Xiaolang found true love at last?’ I’m not really into these teen showbiz crap but I’m worried about our town’s peace being disturbed by all these media stalkers and what not.”

“Oh? But wouldn’t this help Tomoeda become a recognized town by the masses? Our town has been way too quiet and it needs… I don’t know… excitement.” Tomoyo stated her opinion.

“My point is that as much as we can… we can’t get close to the movie cast, most especially with Li Xiaolang, Eriol Hiiragizawa, Meiling Li, and that new chick Mai Hirashiki. Sure we want Tomoeda to be recognized as a household name throughout Japan but getting anyone of us in the newspapers and be the target of major attention just because of our connections with those four?”

“Too late for that, Yamazaki,” Naoko said. “You’re hosting Li-kun and Hiiragizawa-kun and even their manager Wei in their house. By the way, does Chiharu know about that?”

Yamazaki sighed. “She’ll find out eventually. One of those two or even Wei-san will be the ones to tell her.”

“You don’t need to tell her, Yamazaki,” Touya joined in. “She’s that brat’s fanclub’s president. Now if she were just a normal girl who don’t give a damn about these idols then fine, but considering she’s a fanatic, she can’t be trusted.”

“But she’s my girlfriend, Kinomoto-san,” Yamazaki frowned. “Sure, I make up a lot of stuff but I would never hide things from Chiharu, let alone lie to her directly.” He sighed deeply. “One of these days Li and Hiiragizawa and Wei-san will have to leave my house and just board at the Tomoeda Inn with the rest of cast and crew—”

“You can’t!” From out of the blue, Sakura protested with both her fists tightened. “You… you can’t kick them out just because we’ll also be in danger of getting exposed to the public… and they seem very comfortable being in our neighborhood too. They’re also concerned about their privacy also, which is why the director decided to have them board somewhere else other than the Tomoeda Inn.”

Tomoyo sneaked into the conversation. “I don’t mind having them three stay in my house. I mean we have plenty of room. I live in a gated mansion after all. But then I don’t know how my mom will react for having boys staying in our house without proper permission from her. I mean she’s always in the city for her work and I only see her on Fridays and on the weekends.”

Sakura quickly turned to Touya. “Can’t we have Li-kun and Eriol-kun and Wei-san stay in our house instead?”

Touya raised an eyebrow of suspicion. “Sakura, I’m not comfortable having other guys under the same roof as you. Guys your age already have their hormones overloaded and anything can happen.”

“You’re so paranoid, Oniichan! I trust Li-kun and Eriol-kun. I can tell by the way they presented themselves to us earlier today.”

“I’m not finished yet, squirt.”

“Ugh. Fine. Continue, Oniichan.”

“Besides, our house is too small to fit five people: you, me, and Dad included. Where are they gonna sleep? I’m sure they would want to have their own rooms. We're not gonna just lock them up in Dad's basement den with all those old documents and dusty artifacts scattered all over the place, you know?”

“They can sleep in your bedroom, Oniichan.”

“The hell they will!” Touya tightened a fist while Yukito began to pat him on the back again.

“Easy, Touya. Come on, be hospitable to our guests for once,” Yukito advised him.

“Well, I’m sure there has to be another way to keep all of us and Li and Hiiragizawa safe from those hounding paparazzi and nosy fangirls. Meiling seems lucky since there isn’t an official Meiling Li fanclub here in Tomoeda, so she doesn’t have a problem with privacy. I mean, we have to help them too…” Sakura gave another sigh. “I want to help them… especially Li-kun. He trusts me with his life, he said to me last night. He said it to you too, Taka. You were there when he said it.”

“Okay, okay,” Yamazaki hushed everyone and sighed. “I’m… I’m sure Li and Hiiragizawa would also be concerned with our privacy and security also, so I’m sure they’ll also find a way to keep all of us safe.” He lowered his head, shaking it. “I’m sorry to bring that up, guys. Chiharu’s gonna kill me when she finds out that her beloved idol Li is actually staying over at her boyfriend’s house…”

“Whew.” Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Yukito checked his watch and then pointed it towards the rest present.

“Looks like the press conference is about to start. You guys want to watch, or you wanna rehearse some more?”

“We’re going last in the lineup anyway,” Tomoyo smiled. “Shall we go and watch?”

 

#

 

The press conference began at 2:30 p.m. sharp at the Tomoeda Amphitheater, located within the public Tomoeda Penguin Park. Locals call it simply the Penguin Park due to the famous penguin-shaped slide that many of the local kids enjoy sliding it down. For Sakura, she had so many memories of that penguin slide with all her friends, most especially her long-lost childhood love Syaoran. They used to play pretend as kung fu martial arts warriors and star players in soccer, with Syaoran always being the hero and Sakura being the sidekick. Yamazaki, Naoko, and a lot of the local boys used to play with them immensely, while Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Rika would simply just play with their usual dolls while watching them do their crazy kung fu games as if they were in an action-adventure martial arts movie.

It was the first thing that came to her mind when Syaoran began answering one of the reporters’ question about his views of being known to always portray the hero who was an expert in various martial arts. Ironically, he recalled that he used to play pretend with his friends during childhood, however due to his publicly-known suffering from amnesia, he couldn’t even remember the names and faces of his friends as well as where he actually played them.

Tomoyo was already rolling her video camera so she can have a raw copy of the press conference footage for her personal records. When she receives permission, she plans on posting these clips on YouTube.

Four questions after that and another reporter was picked to ask a question. This time towards Eriol.

“Many of the fans and even the general public noted of your similarities with Li Xiaolang. Many say that while he is the kung fu prince, you, on the other hand, are the English Knight Prince in Silver Shining armor. How long have you and Xiaolang been friends in real life?”

“Ah, want to know a secret? Well, it’s not really a huge secret really, but many of my fellow cast and crew already knew this,” Eriol answered. “It’s true, Xiaolang and I did not become close until we started our careers in our agency’s training program, however, our relations are actually more than just plain best friends.”

Syaoran interrupted with a chuckle. “What exactly are we, Eriol?”

“I’m actually a cousin to Xiaolang. His father and my mother are sisters, with his mother being the oldest. My mother moved to the UK as a college student at the University of Oxford. There, she met a rather handsome, dashing, prince-like young heir to the Holly Olive Valley Recording Studios named Edric Rhys Wimsey Hiiragizawa, and well, you know, the rest is history.”

“So you’re half-Chinese, half-Japanese?” The reporter prodded a bit further.

“To be more specific, my mother is Chinese, my father is quarter Japanese and the rest English. Therefore, yours truly is half-Chinese, 1/8th Japanese, the rest of my origin is strictly English. I was born and raised in the UK, which would obviously make me British. I spent most of my young life between England and Hong Kong and I also started my early career as an actor in England as well. I already knew that Xiaolang was my cousin during my usual visits to Hong Kong, it was just that I haven’t met him personally. At that point, he had been living in Japan. It wasn’t until our families, as well as our managers decided to expand our careers further to Japan that we officially met.”

Syaoran interrupted again. “I guess you finally have permission from you parents to reveal this little secret of ours?”

“We’re practically brothers, you know that Xiao. Why not the entire world know of our family relations to each other, ne?”

The chocolate-haired idol shrugged his shoulders. “Eh. Why not?”

“Thank you for sharing that, Hiiragizawa-san!”

The emcee of the press conference, a famed local radio DJ named DJ Nickie, then began to choose the next reporter to ask the next question. At the front row, Naoko, now with her laptop open, still waited for the emcee to pick her and be able to ask her questions.

The locals who were able to watch the live press conference sat all the way at the rising back rows all had their attention to the press conference. General fans, the Wolpups and the Moonies were also present, and of course, even the performers.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Yamazaki’s eyes widened in shock. “Not only that those two are best friends, but they’re also cousins?”

“But of course!” Chiharu said, sitting next to her boyfriend. “All dedicated Wolfpups and Moonies know that very pure fact! Li Xiaolang and Eriol Hiiragizawa are cousins through and through!”

Yamazaki shifted his eyes right at his girlfriend. “Right…”

“Heh, will you look at that?” Yukito snickered, then turned to his fiancee, Nakuru, relaxing her head on his shoulder.

“Li Xiaolang is the Chinese martial artist warrior. Eriol Hiiragizawa is the dashing knight in shining armor. But you, Yuki-chan, are my strong and brave samurai, ne?”

Yukito grinned to himself. “So you say. What was that about last night with Li Xiaolang standing right outside the Kinomoto fence?”

“Huh?” Nakuru frowned, now gazing her face towards Yukito. “I realized something earlier this morning. That was Yamazaki’s cousin, Shin.”

Yukito blinked his eyes, showing a rather confused expression. He would have just told her the truth but decided to just go along with her realization. “Yes. Yamazaki’s cousin, Shin.”

“Wow, no wonder he’s so incredibly handsome like that…” Tomoyo gasped with a slight blush on her face. Sakura became curious as to where her best friend’s eyes were directed towards us and then nudged her on the side.

“Who are you talking about, Tomoyo?” Sakura asked.

Tomoyo simply giggled and turned to her. “You know that mixed-bloods truly does make them look so good-looking. I mean Hiiragizawa-kun… Chinese, English, with a little bit of Japanese… I swear, his Japanese sound so perfect, but most of his gestures are so… so… English.”

Sakura gave a soft chuckle. “Well, I gotta admit that Eriol-kun’s pretty hot too. He looks a whole lot cooler with his eyeglasses on, though.”

“Nonsense! The whole world wants to see his natural beauty! It’s too bad that his eyesight is quite messed up. He started wearing eyeglasses when he was only nine.”

“Oh? How’d you know that?”

“You know… the Eriol Hiiragizawa edition magazine… and Meiling also told me last night.”

“I still think he looks a whole lot cooler with his glasses on. Sure, people say that nerd geeks only wear glasses, but with Eriol Hiiragizawa also wearing glasses when he’s living his private time, he would make all the nerd geeks look so dang cool!”

“Still,” Tomoyo chuckled. “And Li Xiaolang really does have strikingly, piercing amber eyes. Yamazaki says he’s got eyes that flash out ‘Stay away from me or I’m gonna hunt you down and have your flesh and blood,’ but they really are mesmerizing…”

“Yeah,” Sakura sighed deeply. “Gosh, just by looks alone, everything about Li-kun reminds me so much of Syaoran…”

Tomoyo sighed and placed her arm around her best friend. “Sakura, you shouldn’t be comparing a really popular hot star like Li Xiaolang to your long lost childhood love Syaoran. No matter how you look at it, just accept the fact that he’s not Syaoran.”

“I… I know that…” Sakura gave a slight frown. “I know… he’s not…”

“And since he’s such a famous star who’s always in high demand in showbiz, there’s just no way in hell he’ll have time for any romantic relationships. Well, it was easy with Meiling before since both of them are in showbiz and that they were always cast together in a lot of the action films in the past. Maybe it’s easier if he dated another idol girl… like his new co-star Mai Hirashiki.”

Sakura sighed. “I guess you’re right, Tomoyo.” She turned her head to see Chiharu sitting right next to Yamazaki. “Maybe Chiharu also thought that being president of the Wolfpups club would also give her a major chance in getting closer to her favorite idol. Maybe she thought she also has a chance with him. Being a simple, small-town girl, if that happens, she would be the luckiest girl in the entire world.”

“Who knows,” Tomoyo said. “But that’s all over for Chiharu now. She has Yamazaki now, ne?”

Sakura nodded. “You’re right, Tomoyo.”

After Mai Hirashiki finally answered the latest question, the emcee spoke: “That would be it for the general questions. At this point, all questions asked will now only relate to their reactions and views regarding the upcoming movie _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_. This time, the screenwriters, Toshifumi and Taeko Kashii, will now present the overview summary of what the movie is about. Take it away, please.”

Once the screenwriters took the mic, Sakura felt a familiar presence right next to her. She turned her head to see her father, dressed in his usual long-sleeved white polo shirt with rolled-up sleeves, dark brown slacks, and a messenger bag wrapped across his body. It looked like Fujitaka was on his way to the library to do more research for his thesis.

“Dad!” Sakura gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Surprised to see me here, sweetie?” Fujitaka gave his fatherly grin. “Well, I was on my way to the library when I just overheard that today was the press conference for the _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ movie shooting here. Then I remembered that the Cool Rascals will be performing right after the press conference, so I thought I stopped by here to watch.”

Sakura embraced her father. “I’m happy you’re here, Dad.”

“I’m happy I’m here too, Sakura,” Fujitaka chuckled, placing his arm around her. “Ah, before I forget again, I have something for you.”

“Oh? What is it, Dad?” Fujitaka opened his messenger bag and reached inside. There, he picked up a plain-packaged gift with plain white tissue as its gift wrap. “Here you go.”

“For me?”

“Open it.”

Sakura took the gift package and then ripped the white tissue out. Right then, she gave a huge gasp when the gift revealed a brand-new touchscreen Android phone. “Oh Dad, thank you so much! You have no idea how much I’ve been waiting to get my broken phone replaced!”

Fujitaka embraced his daughter in return. “Well, you had really high marks on your spring final exam, so you really deserve to have this new phone. I bought it on sale yesterday but I forgot about it until today. It’s already activated and your entire contact list has been restored..”

“I love you, Dad…” Once the father and daughter released from each other, she showed her new phone to Tomoyo. “I finally got a new phone!”

“Congratulations, Sakura!” The two best friends embraced each other as the two girls began examining her new but simple-looking multi-function smartphone.

“Man, this is so cool!” Sakura whispered in excitement. “Now I can exchange phone numbers again!”

Tomoyo snickered. “Oh, I get it. You hope that you can exchange phone numbers with Li Xiaolang, don’t you?”

Sakura blushed at the thought but gave her usual denial. “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tomoyo.”

“Oh come on now, no more denials, my dear cherry blossom girl! I can easily see it from your eyes…”

“Um… Y-you’re seeing things, Tomoyo!”

“Now now,” Fujitaka interrupted, giving the two girls a hush. “Let’s just watch the press conference first, alright?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry, Dad!” The two girls gave their attention again towards the stage as they continued to listen to the screenwriters on the mic.

“Huh,” Fujitaka muttered. “So, that young boy with the brown hair and the red eyes is that martial arts teen actor Li Xiaolang?”

“Yup,” Sakura nodded. “I have to admit, I’m not a fan or anything, but he does look better in real life than on the magazines or even on TV.”

Fujitaka fell silent for a few moments with his eyes fully concentrated towards the stage. Sakura wondered why her father fell silent all of a sudden but decided not to bother with him. She turned her head back to the stage again to watch.

“He looks awfully familiar…” Fujitaka softly muttered.

Sakura quickly turned to her father. “Did you say something, Dad?”

“No, don’t mind me,” Fujitaka gave a shy chuckle. In his mind, he began to wonder about this mysterious Chinese teen idol he is seeing before him at the stage. He wanted to take a closer look at him to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He slowly stood up to have a clearer view when he found himself almost tumbling back from his seat.

“Dad, are you okay?” Sakura quickly held onto her father’s arm so he would not hit his head backward. Fujitaka straightened himself immediately.

“Whoopsie. I tripped.” He gave a sigh of relief and sat back down on his seat.

At this point, the questions coming from the media were open again. The Tomoeda teens sitting at the back gave a rather slight frown when Naoko wasn’t picked yet to ask her questions, let alone the other two gossip-style bloggers sitting next to her. It seems that the adults have been ignoring the minor-aged reporters, which made no sense to all the youth present in the amphitheater. After all, the movie is a youth-oriented movie, isn’t it?

Once the screenwriters gave their general briefing of the movie, the director took the microphone from the emcee. “It seems that all this time that the young minor-aged reporters sitting at the front row are being ignored. We can’t simply just ignore them since they do represent today’s Japanese youth, correct? Now that the professional journalists finally have their chance, we will be choosing questions from the young and the amateur. Personal questions will not be answered, so I do hope you understand. We will only have our cast and crew answer questions in relation to the movie project, their views on the movie project, or anything career-related. After all, some of you youth may even consider entering showbiz or the media yourselves, therefore, this would be a good opportunity for you to ask.”

Quickly, all the young reporters, including Naoko quickly raised their hands. Much to their dismay, the adults still would have to choose which one of these lucky youth would be able to ask their questions. At this point, Naoko was still not being chosen.

One young male journalist representing the Tomoeda High School newspaper was luckily selected. “Please introduce yourself and your representation before you ask your question. We do record everyone’s names and the media company they represent for our records, after all. Please, proceed.”

The male journalist nodded. “I’m Satoshi Shimabukuro of the Courier of Tomoeda High School, our official school newspaper. This is actually a simple question for both Li Xiaolang-san and Hiiragizawa-san.”

Eriol took the mic. “Good to meet you, Shimabukuro-san. Please proceed with your question.”

“First of all, again, welcome to Tomoeda, we really are excited and honored to finally meeting you and welcoming you here in our humble town. My question is more leaning towards career-wise. You and Li Xiaolang will be turning eighteen sometime this year, which would mean that you will be graduating from high school next spring. Will you still continue on with your movie careers or do you have plans on attending college?”

“Well,” Terada spoke through the mic. “A simple yet important question.”

Eriol turned to Syaoran. “You want me to answer first or you?”

“You already have the mic before me, so go ahead,” Syaoran said.

“Very well.” He turned to the young journalist Satoshi Shimabukuro and answered. “I’ll let Li Xiaolang answer you with that question later, let me go first. I do plan on doing both, actually. I will be continuing my career after this movie project and at the same time plan to enter college for further study. It’s too long for me to explain how I’m going to juggle two things at once because despite that I’m here in Japan, I am in a special long distance learning program from my school back in England and apparently my parents still insisted I enter college in the British educational system. If I can I’d also like to attend university here in Japan, but it’s going to take a lot of work for me as a non-Japanese citizen to do that. Apparently that’s all I can tell you.”

“Thank you very much, Hiiragizawa-san. That’s more than enough, thank you.” Satoshi Shimabukuro made sure he typed everything in his laptop from what Eriol provided him, then turned his head to Syaoran. “And you, Li-kun?”

Syaoran took the mic. “Me, the same as Eriol, but a little different. I’ll probably give less priority on my career for… several reasons that I don’t want to talk about right now. I’m aware that a lot of celebrities are able to juggle both their careers and their studies in college, but… let’s just say I’m a special case…”

“I understand, Li-kun. Thank you.” He then turned to the director. “Nothing further.”

Though it gave those present some commotion, Sakura and Tomoyo glanced at each other.

“Speaking of college,” Tomoyo said, “we’ll be graduating from high school next spring too. Oh man, it’s post-secondary education counseling with the teacher and the counselor time when we get back to school in September.”

“Yeah,” Sakura sighed. “ I don’t even know what college I’m gonna go to and what I should pursue…”

Fujitaka, who was still sitting next to her, cleared his throat. “You know I’m here for you, Sakura. Before you choose which college you plan to attend, we need to work on your career choices first.”

Sakura turned to him. “Oh? You’re not really going to insist that I should apply at Clow Reed University instead, since it’s close to home?”

“I would do that, Sakura, but in reality, that’s not how college planning works.”

“Oh, I see.”

“We’ll talk about all this later at home, okay?” Sakura nodded. The commotion was finally silent and they continue on with the interview. The young reporters headed back to raising their hands again.

This time, one of the two gossip bloggers that Naoko mentioned to her friends earlier was lucky enough to be picked. “Hello. I’m Mayuka Sugihara of the Entertainment News portion of the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog. I have a valuable question for all the four main actors who will be the main characters.”

“Alright then. What is your question?” Terada asked.

“Okay, let’s all be honest,” said Mayuka Sugihara, the persistent one of the two gossip bloggers. “It used to be Li Xiaolang and Meiling Li in the past movies. Now you have Mai Hirashiki and Eriol Hiiragizawa as your partners. Like… what’s the deal with the four of you?”

The four idols simply broke themselves into laughter when the other gossip blogger interrupted with another question. “What my partner is trying to say is, do you think it’s possible that an actor can mistake the roles he and his co-stars portray for real life?”

Meiling decided to take the mic. “I’ll answer for all myself, Li Xiaolang, and Eriol Hiiragizawa, if you don’t mind.” She cleared her throat and began. “It’s possible that an actor can get confused regarding himself and the role he plays as being real life, but of course, that all depends on the level of dedication the actor puts in this character. When you are a professional actor, it’s like being a writer or a journalist, like yourself.”

“Wow, what a smart reply!” Tomoyo complimented Meiling.

Meiling continued on with her answer. “As the Kashiis stated, the story they wrote was based on past teenage experiences, mainly towards Taeko-san’s teenage life. She came from a small town, like Tomoeda, and therefore, that’s why the story is set in a quiet, modest, small-town setting like here. The screenwriters and the director have been here several months ago during their research on the perfect place to set the movie and Tomoeda is the big winner! In any case, just like the screenwriters, the director, and of course, like I said before, just like the journalists and writers, even actors have to do their own research to capture the essence of the roles they play.”

“That’s right,” Terada joined in. “This is also the reason why we have allowed the Tomoeda youth to come and watch the press conference because one of these days, one of our beloved cast here will come knocking at your door asking for your help. Because this is the summer season and everyone is out on vacation, one of the places that we will be using for the movie is at Tomoeda High School. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be recruiting local youth from Tomoeda to even the neighboring towns to act as extras during the school scenes, so I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who would be interested…”

The announcement caused an uproar of excitement among the locals present, most especially the young. Sakura, Tomoyo, Yamazaki, Chiharu, and Rika were no exception.

“Oh my gosh, Sakura!” Tomoyo exclaimed happily. “This is gonna be so cool! We can audition as extras! We can be in the movie!”

Sakura shrieked in silence. “That’d be so cool Tomoyo! We get to hang out with Li-kun and Hiiragizawa-kun and Meiling every day! We won’t have to break through security in the movie set just so we can watch the shooting and say hello.”

“Are you gonna audition tomorrow? I want to!”

“Hehe,” Sakura grinned. “If all of you guys are gonna auditions, then I don’t mind.”

Chiharu and Rika joined in the excitement. “Oh my god, Chiharu and I are so gonna be there!” Rika exclaimed cheerfully. “Imagine… we would be the only two presidents of our fanclubs to get that close to our idols! Kyaaaa!!”

“And Taka will be auditioning too!” Chiharu winked.

Yamazaki raised an eyebrow after hearing his girlfriend mention him regarding the auditions. "Ew... but I’m only auditioning just so I can keep an eye on you, Chi-chan.”

“Oh come on, it’s not like we’ll be having kissing scene roles, you know? We’re only extras!”

“You think?” The nervous teen glared. “I’ll always be there next to you so you won’t be able to get really close to Li Xiaolang, you hear me? Don’t forget the behind the scenes moments too! You may be saying 'I love you' at me but your eyes will be on him!”

“Oh boy, someone’s jealous,” Rika grinned. “At least with me and darling Eriol, I have no rivals!”

“You have the entire Moonies Fanclub as your rivals, Rika. Could you ever be more obvious?” Yamazaki raised an eyebrow at her.

Right then, Fujitaka tapped on his daughter’s shoulder. “Are you really going to audition as an extra in that movie, Sakura?”

Sakura gazed at her father with starry eyes. “Can I, Dad?”

“I thought you said you’re not into all the showbiz stuff, dear?”

“Well, I’d feel bad if I didn’t join my friends auditioning. Besides, it’s just an audition. I’m sure there’s plenty of kids who would love to audition, and you may never know, I may not be part of the movie after all.”

“Well, Sakura, it’s worth a try. We’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“Thanks so much, Dad.”

“Everyone quiet down,” Terada called out the audience and the media. “We’ve only got five minutes left before the press conference ends. It looks like our cast and crew would like to take the seats and be entertained by the local talent Tomoeda has to offer, so let’s make this count.”

Once again, the media began to raise their hands again, with Naoko hoping that she would finally be picked. They will only be picking one more person at this point and the press conference will be over. She had to stand up on tiptoes to get the attention of the ones on stage.

Seconds later, Terada made his choice. “You there; young lady with the bob hair and glasses.”

Right then, Naoko, as well as Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Rika, gasped in shock. “M-me, Sir?” Naoko asked curiously.

“Apparently, you’re the only one among your fellow young and amateur journalists still raising her hand.”

"Ah, yes, sir!" Naoko slowly lowered her hand shyly, then cleared her throat. “Alright then. It’s my turn, finally.” She stood up from her seat and faced the cast and crew sitting at the table on stage. “First of all, on behalf of all the youth of Tomoeda and the neighboring towns, welcome to our humble town. My name is Naoko Yanagisawa and I’m a regular blogger for the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog. I write mostly local news and events involving our young generation here in Tomoeda and at neighboring towns, so my question pertains specifically about Tomoeda altogether.”

“Alright then, Yanagisawa-san. Please proceed with your question.”

Naoko then gazed at the table and began her question. “This question is really general and since the big names of this movie just happened to be four names, this question is directly towards all four of them.” She gave a nod towards Syaoran, Eriol, Meiling, and Syaoran’s new co-star, Mai Hirashiki, to inform them that she will be asking the question now.

“I know that today is only your first day here in Tomoeda. What were your first impressions of this town?”

Immediately the four idols suddenly turn to each other, deciding which one of the four should answer her first. Moments later, Syaoran spoke out first.

“Nice to meet you, Yanagisawa-san. Thank you also for the warm welcome,” Syaoran began, knowing he still had to pretend that this was the first time they’ve met and spoken to one another.

"Oh my gosh!" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura, Chiharu, and Rika with excitement. "Li Xiaolang is talking to Naoko-chan!"

Sakura giggled. "Silly Tomoyo, it's not as if they've never spoken to each other before." Tomoyo hushed Sakura to give a short tease to the other two girls and then laughed along with her.

Naoko can read what he was up to and also played along with it. Syaoran continued with his response.

“This is an honest response to your general question, Yanagisawa-san. At first, I really didn’t have much impression on it since it is a very small town located in the middle of nowhere, however as we drove through the welcome archway, I felt as if I have been here before.”

“How so, Li-san?” Naoko prodded.

“It’s hard to explain, but the sights, the sounds, even the air really reminded me of a place I feel very close to—”

“Oh my! We’re done already!” From out of the blue, Terada interrupted, pointing to his watch. “Now it’s time for the local performers to strut their stuff and impress us with their originality in the performing arts! Thank you all so much for coming!”

“Hey, wait a minute, Director, I’m not finished yet!” Syaoran protested.

“I know, Xiaolang, but the emcees reminded us that time is already up.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Syaoran muttered his disappointment, not only did he felt that Naoko's question sounded important to him, but the fact that he was interrupted abruptly even made his reaction sourer than it already is.

 _You've got to be kidding me_ , said the inner voices inside Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Rika. Naoko couldn't utter her words and felt defeat right on her. At that time, the emcees thanked everyone who participated in the interview. For Naoko, not only did she felt like she wasted time, but she felt as if her piece was not important enough to be included in an open press conference.

Right then, the stage crew arrived and began to tear down the table arrangements, as the cast and crew stood up, climbing downstairs towards the amphitheater seats, where they will be sitting throughout the performances.

Naoko gave a disappointed expression on her face and then dropped her head in silence. She knew that her two gossiping colleagues for the blog would simply laugh at her for not getting the attention she deserved to receive as a community blogger.

“That... _really_ sucks!” Rika frowned, crossing her arms. “This was Naoko’s chance to be a real deal blogging journalist. She’s really counting on that special report as part of her entry level resume for university next year.”

“What the hell was that all about?” Chiharu protested. “I can’t believe those two blabbermouth gossip girls from the blog actually had a chance to chat with Li-kun and Hiiragizawa-kun and then only gave Naoko very little time to write down what she needed for her upcoming article! That’s just unjust!”

Rather than making complaints herself, Sakura, followed by Tomoyo, dashed downward to the first row in order to comfort her. Once they reached her, Sakura and Tomoyo sat next to Naoko from both sides, with the two best friends gently patting their bookworm friend on the back.

“This is… this is unbelievable…” Naoko muttered as if she was ready to cry. “I… I was counting on this article about the movie and our town… I really need this as my key to getting accepted into Todai’s investigative journalism program when I graduate next year… I don’t know what to do now…”

“Those dumb gossip girls ruined everything,” Tomoyo sighed, embracing her friend. “You so deserved this and make the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog a worthwhile site for all our fellow youth to visit and read again. Plus of course, your hopes of entering Todai’s journalism program too…”

“No, you can’t blame Sugihara and Ayuzawa, since the director picked them before me after all.” Naoko continued to refrain herself from shedding a single tear, but continued to mutter. “I quit the Tomoeda High School Cheerleading Squad last June so I can focus on studying for the Todai entrance exam and give my full-time dedication to writing for the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog and this story of the movie shooting of the _Cherry Blossom, Little Wolf_ was supposed to be my eventual breakthrough to my budding career as a writer… and now…”

“Oh Naoko… I wish there’s a way that we could help you… but then they’re all gonna be busy with the shooting and then we won’t even have a chance to keep in touch with them…” Sakura sighed. “Same goes with me. I didn’t join this year’s cheerleading squad for the same reason so I can study for the college entrance exams. I still don’t know where to go yet but you know…”

“What am I gonna do now?” Naoko gave a soft moan and quickly began to wipe her eyes. “I’m tired of writing the same old boring stuff all the time…” Right then, Sakura and Tomoyo embraced Naoko tightly, as Naoko placed her arms around the two.

“We could do an exclusive interview.” Just as things were about to get gloomy for the aspiring blogger, a startling voice hooked the attention of the three girls. They lifted their heads and spotted Syaoran, Eriol, and Meiling standing right in front of them.

“Li-kun… Eriol-kun… Meiling!” Sakura gasped in surprise.

“Did you say… exclusive interview…?” Naoko muttered those words. The three nodded to confirm.

Syaoran sat right next to Sakura, though his attention was right towards the bespectacled blogger girl. “I do not like being interrupted in the middle of the press conference, let alone an interview.”

“Exclusive interview… with me?” Naoko continued to mutter in surprise.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Eriol asked, now sitting down next to Tomoyo.

“Well, tomorrow was supposed to be my day writing the article, but because I didn’t have the material that I needed, I’ll be free for sure.”

“Then,” Meiling said, “maybe later after this... or maybe during the movie shooting breaks if we don't have time, we can have our exclusive interview! It’ll be just you and then the four of us!”

 _Four of us_ , Naoko thought to herself. She meant Syaoran, Eriol, Mai Hirashiki, and Meiling with her.

“Exclusive… interview…”

“I already advised Wei to add your name in our schedule for tomorrow,” Syaoran said. “Since we’re not sure when we’re gonna have breaks yet, Wei will simply send you a text to let you know so you can come over and we could meet.”

“Oh my!” Naoko immediately flashed a grin on her face. She quickly stood up and bowed lowly to the idols. “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me…”

“Besides,” Eriol gave a grin. “Earlier today while I was checking the internet through my laptop in my quarters, I stumbled upon the Tomoeda Youth Official Blog. I must say, you have your own style of writing that really peaks my interest and I’ve become an instant fan of your writing. It was then that I believe that you would truly make the featured article about us, the movie project, and Tomoeda the best-ever literally reported news ever.”

Naoko quickly lifted herself up. “Just you wait and see! I’m going to make this special feature the best feature you’ve ever read!” She bowed again once more. “Thank you so much, you guys…”

“Ah, right,” Syaoran and Eriol immediately stood up and then reached for their mobile phones again. “Can we exchange numbers, Yanagisawa?”

“Ah yes, of course!” Naoko reached for her phone in her messenger laptop bag and using the auto-exchange transfer, they received each other’s info.

“Oh! That’s right!” Sakura exclaimed and reached for her new cellphone. “I… I have a new cellphone today!”

Syaoran gave a chuckle. “Great. Let’s exchange phone numbers then.”

“Ah, don’t forget me!” Meiling also brought out her phone as they began exchanging phone numbers from each other.

“Thanks so much, everyone!” Sakura cheered. Right then, Touya, Yukito, and Yamazaki arrived on the scene.

“Alright, girls,” Touya muttered, looking rather bored and uninterested. “We got final rehearsals to do before it’s our turn to perform. Let’s go.”

“Ah! That’s right!” Tomoyo exclaimed as she began hooking her arm around Sakura again. “Well then, we’re off now. See you guys later!”

“Have fun! See you on stage later!” The three idols and Naoko waved as Sakura and Tomoyo headed backstage, following the three boys from their Cool Rascals band.

 

#

 

The Cool Rascals band did not expect that there would be four local acts who will be performing. Apparently, the four acts before them just happened to be professionals, with the act before them was an all-girl dance crew called Beauty Belles, lead by the very elegantly pretty Maiko Horibe, one of Tomoeda High’s most popular girls. She and her clique of four other wealthy and popular rich girls from the Tomoeda Elite make up the Beauty Belles. They’re not only just a pop dance crew, but they’re simply just a special clique consisting of daughters from Tomoeda’s richest families. If you remember the famous series _Hana Yori Dango_ , the Beauty Belles would be the equivalent to the infamous F4.

Maiko Horibe is another petite-looking, long raven-haired beauty whose a daughter of two famous jewellers who own a chain of jewelry shops all around Japan. A dancer of classical ballet and ballroom dancing, she recently got herself in to club and hip-hop dancing along with her equally wealthy friends. Plenty of girls around Tomoeda and the neighboring towns wanted to be like her; most guys, especially those of the elite, wanted her. Even if that was the case, she still cannot compare to the actual most popular girl in their area: Tomoyo Daidouji. If most of the girls think that Maiko has everything, she also wants everything Tomoyo has.

She was the main reason why Tomoyo lost her sniveling coward of an ex-boyfriend, Ken Bunchin, a son of the Tomoeda Elite. Maiko lead Ken Bunchin on enough for him to break off with Tomoyo, but in the end, even the boyfriend himself was duped by this girl’s manipulative charms. Still, no matter what, she still found herself in second place in the popular girl category under Tomoyo. If we’re talking about the entire Tomoeda Elite, Maiko’s family only came in fourth. Tomoyo’s family currently is ranked first for being the wealthiest in Tomoeda. Well, of course, that was today. Seven years ago, the Daidoujis were second. The most domineering family throughout the Tomoeda Elite, in addition of all Tomoeda, was none other than the Li Clan, the family of Sakura’s long-lost childhood love, Syaoran.

Plenty of girls always expected Tomoyo to be the leader and part of the Beauty Belles since it was formed when they were at age twelve. In fact, Tomoyo used to be close friends with Maiko and her three other rich girl friends since childhood, but only because they just happened to be in the same flock. Even if that was case, Tomoyo met simple girl Sakura first from the beginning, and they immediately clicked. The raven-haired fashionista beauty discovered that Sakura was a truer friend than the likes of Maiko Horibe and all those other rich girls in her own level. At age six, Tomoyo officially ditched Maiko and the other three rich girls to hang out with Sakura and her two homeboys, Syaoran and Takashi Yamazaki, permanently.

At this moment, the Cool Rascals band waited for the girls to be finished with their performance. Tomoyo gave out her slight impatience by gazing at her watch, while Touya and Yukito were already falling asleep in their fiancees’ arms. Yamazaki stayed silent all this time, practicing his part on his guitar. Sakura, on the other hand, was simply playing some freestyle tune on her keyboard. She made sure the keyboard’s volume was low enough and had her headphones on so she could hear the sound.

While she continued on freestyling on her keyboard, she felt a buzz in the pocket of her denim capri pants. She reached for her phone and then found the text message icon flashing on her screen. She opened it and began to read:

_Are you guys gonna be on stage after these girls?_

She found the recipient of the message and then gave herself a chuckle and a blush. _It’s from Li-kun!_

Quickly she pressed the reply button and began to type her message to him.

_Yeah, although it looks like we won’t be getting enough time to perform. We were supposed to perform 4 songs, but with less than 10 mins, looks like we’re just going to perform 1 song only._

“Yeah,” Sakura murmured to herself. “Just one song. This really blows…”

Few moments later, she received another reply.

_Don’t worry. We won’t be leaving Tomoeda anytime soon. There’ll be plenty of time for you guys to perform for us. Ne?_

“Oh Li-kun,” Sakura sighed deeply, then blushed immediately. “Wow… I can’t believe you’re texting me this moment… even with those Beauty Belles are already on stage…”

Quickly she sent in her reply.

_You know those girls on stage? They’re the Beauty Belles, Tomoeda High’s most popular girls. They’re lead by this girl named Maiko Horibe. She’s that skinny one with the really long hair stretching down just above her butt, the one at the center. Right after she met me, Taka, and another friend of ours, she ended up meeting some girls of the Elite, starting with that Horibe girl. It didn't last long though. She eventually came back to us, and ever since then she’s trying to muscle in our business trying to ruin Tomoyo’s happiness. I really don’t like making enemies but deep inside I really don’t like her._

Sakura sighed, then dropped her head. “I’m a blabbermouth, I know… but… I don’t want to just end there…”

Some moments later, she received another reply.

_Your friend, Daidouji, looks more of the Crown Princess of Tomoeda than any of these girls on stage. I wouldn't worry about them. When you do get on stage, smile, okay? I'll be watching you._

"Hoe!" Sakura shrieked, covering her phone screen to her chest, with different shades of red displaying on her cheeks.  _Li-kun..._ She quickly replied with a few words, thanking him.

_No, no, no... your heart belongs to Syaoran... why is Li Xiaolang giving me goosebumps too? That's... that's never happened before... I... I better be careful around him..._

At this point, Tomoyo arrived with a rather disappointing expression on her face. “Those stupid Beauty Belles,” Tomoyo rolled her eyes. “They’re supposed to only have five minutes on stage. They’re almost up there for ten minutes now. What the heck kind of dance are they performing? Classical ballet?”

“Tell me about it,” Sakura shook her head. “I don’t understand why we’re last to go, Tomoyo.”

“According to the mayor, we’re fresh, cool, and completely loaded with talent. He’s got the whole ‘save the best for last’ bit. Man, I bet Naoko’s getting impatient too.”

“Hoe?” Sakura blinked in curiosity.

“She’ll be taping our performance tonight so we can watch it right after and see what we like and don’t like with that performance. It’ll be part of our learning process when we perform in front of famous people in the future!”

“Oh, I get it,” Sakura grinned. “Great idea, Tomoyo!”

“Hehe…” Tomoyo patted her best friend on the shoulder. She then sat down on a speaker hooked up on to Sakura’s keyboard. “Sorry about all this, Sakura. You must be bored…”

“Oh don’t worry,” Sakura grinned. “I have my texting buddy to accompany me.” She lifted her phone and gently shook it.

“Aw, that’s so sweet!” Tomoyo giggled. “And does this texting buddy of yours go by the name of Li Xiaolang?”

Sakura’s eyes widened in surprise while Tomoyo chuckled. “Don’t worry. I have a texting buddy too to keep me company. Except his name is Eriol Hiiragizawa.”

The two best friends broke in to silent laughter, both feeling rather special to the two handsome idols sitting at the front row of the amphitheater tonight. Special, and yet, they’re not fans?

“Hiira— I mean Eriol-kun is quite talkative!” Tomoyo giggled. "It's like, he could go on and on forever!"

“Yeah,” Sakura snickered, “he’s like the equivalent of you!”

“What? Am not!” Tomoyo jokingly gave a light slap on Sakura’s shoulder. “Silly girl! What about Li-kun?”

“Hm… he seems to be pretty soft spoken,” Sakura showed a light smile. “But somehow, that mysterious aura really is mesmerizing…”

“Well duh, Sakura! It’s part of his attraction factor. I even noticed the way he looked at you last night."

"Oh come on now, you're seeing things, and it was dark outside!"

"You think? He's got those 'I want that really cute green-eyed girl all to myself' eyes on you. Ohohohoho~!”

“Hoooeee?!” Sakura hid her blushing face from Tomoyo, doing all she can to erase the vision of Li Xiaolang's piercing amber eyes directed at her with that particular message according to Tomoyo's observation.

Right then, Sakura’s phone began to vibrate again. “Oh, that must be Li-kun right now! Let’s see what he says…” She gazed at her phone and opened the message icon:

_That girl's mind is out of focus. Instead of her working hard on her routine, her eyes kept looking at me. How annoying._

Sakura gave a chuckle. _Oh Li-kun, you don’t know half the story just yet…_ She began texting her reply:

_I’ve read in the magazine that you’re very picky when it comes to girls. Well, nothing wrong with being picky. If Meiling Li happened to be your first girlfriend and no one else before her or even after her, then yes, you truly are picky._

She then pressed the “Send” button and placed her phone down. Without even realizing it, Tomoyo reacted at the text Syaoran sent her earlier. “Sakura, what are you guys talking about?”

“Well… um… I kinda mentioned to him about the Beauty Belles… nothing bad though, just saying that they’re the most popular girls in our school. Right?”

“Hahaha, whatever,” Tomoyo snickered while rolling her eyes. “That bitch sure can’t change her mind with guys. First she steals my boyfriend, now she’s eying Li Xiaolang?”

“Bunchin-kun? Forget him, Tomoyo. He may look like he’s all that just because he’s from the elite like you guys but all this time he’s nothing but a wimpy coward.”

Tomoyo responded with a laugh. “And that’s what I intend to do. Move on with my life and find someone new. You should do the same, Sakura, instead of your father making all these hopeless set-ups with random guys who end up being epic fails. There’s nothing wrong with a girl clinging on to her favorite teddy bear, you know.”

“I know, Tomoyo… but… in a way Sakamoto’s right. I am seventeen and I shouldn’t be clinging on to these stuffed animals anymore but… but Chiirou is so special to me… and… he’s the only memory that I have of Syaoran…” At that point, she felt wetness forming on to her eyes, knowing that whenever she talked about her teddy bear Chiirou, the more she could feel an arrow of emotional pain striking through her heart.

“Oh Syaoran…”

Tomoyo did not say any more words and instead, embraced her tightly. “Oh Sakura… this isn’t the time to cry…”

“I know… I know… I just can’t help it, you know?” Sakura quickly wiped off her tears with her hand, as Tomoyo reached for her purse and handed her a clean piece of facial tissue. She quickly grabbed it from Tomoyo and began to wipe her tears.

At this point, the emcee arrived backstage. “Cool Rascals, get ready. It’s almost your turn. The girls are finishing up their routine.”

“Oh, finally!” Yamazaki exclaimed.

Kaho, who had been watching the performance from the side of the stage, began shaking her fiance up. “Touya, wake up! It’s almost your turn now!”

“Yukito, why did you have to fall asleep?” Nakuru frowned and began to gently pat her fiance on the cheeks.

The two young adult men finally woke up. “Oh hell, finally,” Touya rolled his eyes. “What the hell are those girls doing on stage? Opera?”

“Stop complaining, Touya,” Kaho gave him a frown. “At least it’s your turn now.”

Tomoyo and Sakura arrived where the boys were standing. “Looks like we’ll have to sing two songs instead of four,” Tomoyo sighed. “We only have six minutes left before the show’s over, so two songs, at least less than three minutes long.”

Touya crossed his arms. “This is pathetic, man. I don’t mean to offend to you, Tomoyo-chan, but the payment is going to be really less if it’s only six minutes…”

“No worries, Touya-niichan,” Tomoyo chuckled. “You’ll still get paid the same. Same goes to you too Yukito-niichan… and of course, Yamazaki-kun!”

Being a part of the Cool Rascals band was also another part-time job for the rest of the band including Sakura. Being the daughter of the wealthiest family of all of Tomoeda, Tomoyo knows she can afford anything she wants. She always wanted to have her own band as her passion for singing is as strong as her desire for creating beautiful things, but because she didn’t know any professional musicians to act as her backup band, she decided to recruit her closest friends and neighbors and even offered to pay for them as if it was a part-time job. After all, whenever they go on gigs, they get paid anyway by the hosts. The good thing about this is that not only they get paid by the hosts, but they also get extra pay from Tomoyo herself.

“So, which songs are we gonna sing then, Tomoyo?” Sakura asked curiously.

“Well, first we’ll perform ‘Play Me a Sad Song’ and then we’ll perform ‘Mr. Music Man.’ Those two songs are less than three minutes long, so that should cover at least four to five minutes of our given time. We still gotta set up the instruments too.”

“Well,” Yukito nodded. “Let’s start setting up then—” Just as the band was about to do so, they noticed that the stage crew were already doing the setup for them. “Oh, wow, never mind.”

Right then, Yamazaki scratched his head in curiosity. “Wait… isn’t those two songs slow songs? And not just slow songs, but sad and depressing songs too?”

“Yeah…” Tomoyo gave a playful sigh. “After all, we were only given six minutes to perform… and since we’re the final act and the night’s getting really late, maybe we should send our audience home with a sweet tune in their minds, ne?”

“Are you insane, Daidouji? These past few days we’ve been rehearsing, the songs we’ve been rehearsing are all depressing breakup songs! I know you still can’t get over your break up with that Bunchin dude but he’s history, dangit!”

“Well, it’s not like we’re singing to make people said, Yamazaki,” Tomoyo said. “It’s how we perform and we sing that song would move our audience that would make them want to listen to more of our original material! More gigs, more money for all of us, ne?”

Touya shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, as long as we get paid, it’s cool with me.”

“As long as we move our audience through their hearts with our songs, I don’t mind at all,” Yukito gave a grin.

“As long as I don’t sing lead, it’s all good for me…” Sakura muttered to herself.

“What was that, Sakura?” Tomoyo gave a curious look at her.

“Oh… hahahahaha! Nothing… nothing…” Sakura gritted her teeth when she flashed her smile.

Right then, the emcee finally began to announce their band name. Luckily the backstage crew already set up the instruments for them beforehand.

“And now, to close our welcome celebration tonight, let’s all give a huge round of applause to Tomoeda’s coolest pop rock band, always filled with fresh energy, vibe, and originality. Let’s all welcome The Cool Rascals!”

“Fresh energy, vibe, and originality, he says…” Yamazaki muttered in a melancholic tune as the five band members climbed on stage and then took their positions with their instruments. Tomoyo, of course, will be at the center of the setup with her single mic. Sakura was at the right side of the stage from the audience’s view, with Touya at the back with his drum kit, and the two guitarists, Yukito and Yamazaki, are at the left side from the audience’s view.

“Well well, thank you everyone!” Tomoyo spoke through the mic and began to wave to the audience. The audience responded with enthusiastic cheers and applauses. “As we are about to close tonight and we’ve only got six minutes to perform… we’ll be performing two sweet-tuned songs just for you!”

As Tomoyo continued on, at the front row, Eriol couldn’t help himself but to gaze at the beautiful leader of the Cool Rascals band. “Xiao, who would have thought that our dear friend Tomoyo Daidouji would look so stunningly beautiful up on stage. She’s the designer’s daughter but she has 100% natural star quality, you know?”

Syaoran gave a slight frown. “So unfair…”

“What? What’s unfair?”

“That Tomoyo Daidouji is the one closest to us on stage…”

“Xiao, what on earth are you muttering about?”

“I don’t know… maybe Sakura should be a little closer to the center of the stage instead of her being all the way to the left…”

Eriol broke in to laughter. “Now I hear the sad tone of your voice, dear cousin. You just want Sakura closer so you can see her a whole lot more closely. Is this love at first sight, Xiao?”

“Shut up, Eriol,” Syaoran muttered while rolling his eyes.

Tomoyo’s introduction finally ended as the band began performing the two sweet-sounding original songs with depressing lyrics.

 

#

 

Several hours later after the welcome celebration, Sakura walked in her bedroom, this time donning mint green PJs and a small pink cherry blossom embroidered on the left side of her top. She just came from the restroom, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and combed her hair, right before she pops in bed. But first, she checked her email on her desktop computer on her desk to see if Tomoyo even replied to her email this morning.

As expected, her best friend from across the street really did reply to her:

_Dearest Sakura,_

_You dreaming of Li Xiaolang being Syaoran only tells me one thing: you are beginning to fall in love with Li Xiaolang himself! But come on now, you can’t blame the guy for being so stunningly gorgeous and irresistibly hot, it’s only natural that you’d feel... uh... some attraction to him._

_Don’t deny it! After all, after you got your new mobile phone from your dad, he did exchange phone numbers with you, ne? And then he even started texting you, right? Well, he’s already giving you keys to his heart! This only means that he’s allowing you to get closer to him— and in turn, he wants to get closer to you too! To hell with Mai Hirashiki or Maiko Horibe and all those Wolfpups fangirls. You have become Li Xiaolang’s ideal girl and you’ll just have to get used to it. If you can’t, you know I’m here to back you up as always… ohohohohoho!_

_Tomorrow morning is audition time to become extras for the movie! Don’t be late, Sakura!_

_Love you! - Tomoyo_

“Oh man… she’s got to be kidding…” Sakura sighed and signed off of her email and turned off her desktop computer. “Then again… maybe she’s right about Li-kun…”

She walked over to her bed and jumped herself in to bed. Her Chiirou stuffed animal still remained on the bed and picked it up. Now lying down and the stuffed toy already facing her, she began to talk to the teddy bear.

“I haven’t told you the news yet, ne? I’ve met a new friend last night. I wonder if Syaoran would be mad if he learns that after all these years of waiting for him, even a single reply, that I’m already making new friends with other guys who I… well… find… them… as… potentials, you know?”

She then turned to her side, still with her teddy bear across from her. “You know what, this new friend of mine looks so much and sometimes acts so much like Syaoran. His last name is also Li too. But I know he can’t be Syaoran because if he is, he would’ve recognized me immediately, you know? And then we’d be rekindling our special memories together… with you… and my stuffed animal I made for him… I wonder what name he gave her when he left Tomoeda for his home country of Hong Kong? Actually, he gave it a Chinese name, but I don't know what it means, you know?”

Right then, she gave a soft chuckle and continued. “His name is Li Xiaolang. He’s a really famous teen idol who also originally came from Hong Kong but he’s really taken Japan by storm by his good looks, his sexy but adoringly boyish voice, his talent, you know the deal. I know I’m not a fan or anything but… well… there’s just something about him that really… well… makes my heart flutter towards him, you know?”

She then flipped herself over and now her front body is lying against the bed. “Ne, Chiirou. I dreamed about Syaoran and Li-kun last night. I dreamed that Li-kun and Syaoran are actually one in the same. He said in the dreams that all this time, he had been searching for his way back home, here in Tomoeda. Because of some circumstances that he couldn’t find his way back home, so he entered showbiz and worked to become popular in Japan… so that I would be able to find him…”

At that point, she gave a sigh and then cradled her Chiirou stuffed toy to her. “Oh Chiirou… what does that mean? Syaoran Li… Li Xiaolang… they have the same last name… even their first names sound the same too... Maybe they’re related, like, cousins or something. Right?

"And I noticed something too. When we exchanged phone numbers, my phone detected Li-kun’s name in Kanji… it’s the same exact way that Syaoran writes his name. Hm, maybe Li Xiaolang is a common name in China, I don’t know. What do you think, Chiirou?”

Again, she turned around and now her back was against the bed now. “Am I… am I… really… starting to fall in love with Li Xiaolang, Chiirou? But that can’t be. I mean, we’ve only met last night and… and we barely hung out today… we just started exchanging text messages earlier today when I finally got a new cellphone from Dad. And then starting tomorrow, he and the other stars we’ve met would be really busy. They’ll be out of Tak’s house early and will be back when I’m already asleep. I know we exchanged phone numbers but I don’t want to call him or text him when he’s in the middle of a shoot, you know?”

She then placed Chiirou next to her and then curled herself in to a ball. “Oh Chiirou, what am I gonna do? I know Li-kun never really showed any signs of romantic interest at me but why does he always invade my heart so much? When he’s around, it’s like everything’s cool. But when he’s away… why does my heart ache as if it’s telling me that… I really need to see him… those deep amber eyes… that milky mocha hair… that beautiful manly but boyish voice of his… that sincere smile… aaaaargh…” She then placed her hands on to her head, trying to clear her mind.

“Li-kun… oh Li-kun… I want to see you… at least for a few seconds… just to say goodnight…”

And before she knew it, she heard her cellphone at her side table vibrating. She got up from the bed and reached for her phone. Another message icon popped on her screen and then read the recipient.

“Chiirou! What a coincidence! It’s from Li-kun!” Quickly she opened the message and read it to herself:

_Look out your window._

“Eh?” Sakura gasped, grabbed Chiirou with her, and then ran to her window. She opened the curtain and then opened one of the large window panes. She showed a startled expression once she saw Syaoran comfortable sitting at the sturdy branches of the cherry blossom tree that stood between her window and his window at the Yamazaki residence.

The scene she was seeing now outside the window made her heart skip. This was how Syaoran reached to her during nighttime when they were apart from each other. The only son of Tomoeda's most powerful family would climb over the tree standing between them from his window, and would always knock on her window once he reached to the other side.

 _Syaoran..._ She was tempted to call his name, but when reality came, the teen idol Li Xiaolang appeared at the tree instead.

“Li-kun! But… what are you doing at the tree?” Sakura gasped.

“May I come in, dear lady?” Syaoran suddenly asked permission for him to enter her window.

“W-whoa!” Sakura giggled. “Sure! Dad is staying up all night again at his den working on his doctoral thesis and Oniichan is in deep sleep now. Do you need help climbing in?”

“I can manage.” Quickly and easily, Syaoran entered through her window. He sat on the windowsill seat first before he removed his shoes. After all, you shouldn’t be wearing shoes when you enter someone’s home after all.

When Syaoran appeared, he was still wearing the same stylish white, olive green, and khaki outfit that he wore from the press conference earlier. That only meant one thing. He and Eriol must have arrived at Yamazaki’s house just now.

“You haven’t changed yet, Li-kun,” Sakura giggled and took a seat at the other end of her windowsill seat. Now the two are sitting across from each other.

“Eriol and I just got home, I mean, Yamazaki’s house that is. The exclusive interview with Yanagisawa was really interesting. She was more interested with my connection towards Tomoeda than my personal life behind the scenes. Then again, she's writing about what's going on among Tomoeda's youth, not necessarily gossip."

Sakura smiled. "You have no idea how much this interview was so important to Naoko. I mean, her college dreams depended on that interview, you know?  Thank you so much for giving her the time, with all your hectic schedule and everything."

Syaoran returned the smile. "Actually, I should thank her. Sometimes, I forget about how a real exclusive interview should be like. This is why sometimes I'm known in the media as being elusive and mysterious. I don't want them peering into my personal life like it's my business. But at the same time, in a way... she helped me a bit."

"Helped you with what?"

"Oh, I don't know... she kinda gave me a small push into... digging deeper in myself."

"Well, whatever it was, I'm sure that time was very well worth it."

"It is, yes. I don't know when Yanagisawa will post that interview, so you'll just have to give her some time."

"I look forward to it!" Sakura grinned. "So, what else did you guys do?"

The conversation continued on. For a celebrity teen who tends to be elusive and mysterious to any strangers, it seems that with Sakura, things are different. He couldn't explain it himself, but with this green-eyed small town girl, he feels as if they have known each other forever.

"We had a long session of script runthrough at the Tomoeda Inn conference hall earlier, so yeah… I spent a lot of time with Mai Hirashiki with the script.” Syaoran answered, gently scratching his head.

“Sounds great!” Sakura grinned. “Well, better be prepared for the shoot’s first day, ne?”

“I guess so,” Syaoran shyly chuckled. “Were you already sleeping, Sakura?”

Sakura shook her head. “No. I was having a convo, that’s all…”

“Convo? With Daidouji?”

“Well, um… not quite…” She slowly gazed at the dark green teddy bear cradled in her arms. “Actually… it’s just that… um…”

Immediately, Syaoran noticed the teddy bear in her hand and then slowly moved closer to have a better look. “That’s a really cute stuffed animal. You must love green as much as I do.”

“Eh?” Sakura gasped, then found herself blushing again, especially with the mention of the color green. "Um... yes... gr-green is one of my... favorite colors."

"We got something in common already," Syaoran laughed, then found his eyes gazing at her emerald eyes once more. "Green really looks good on you."

"Hoe..."

He couldn't help himself with his light teasing. With this girl's reaction into every little thing he mentions, his level of pride shot up like a rocket. "I wonder how cute you'd really look talking to that stuffed animal of yours."

“Hoe? I… I thought you’d think it’d be silly and immature…”

“What?” Syaoran gave her a puzzled look. “Why would you think it’s silly and immature?”

“It’s just that…” She then raised her Chiirou teddy bear towards him. “Well… this is my best friend, Chiirou. Chiirou, this is Li-kun… I mean… Li Xiaolang…”

Sakura gulped nervously, wondering if the teen idol would just break in to laughter and would simply laugh at her like what that other jerk Sakamoto did to her last week. Instead, Syaoran answered the opposite.

“Honored to meet you, Chiirou-san.” He bowed to the teddy bear the way he would to any Japanese person.

Her eyes quickly opened and then answered him. “Y-you don’t think it’s childish?”

“Hm? What’s childish?”

“Well… me… confining too much on my Chiirou bear?”

Syaoran then realized where Sakura was trying to say at this point. “Wait… your Chiirou bear is the reason why that sniveling coward from last night started humiliating you in front of people when you and he went out on your first dinner date?”

Sakura sighed deeply. “No one in this town understands why Chiirou bear means so much to me, so much that I refuse to get rid of him. I mean, I would donate all my stuffed animals to charity, but not Chiirou. He stays with me. I’ve tried explaining it as much as I can to people, but instead…”

“I… I don’t mean to be nosy or anything, but… may I take a guess why Chiirou bear is so important to you?”

“Sure, Li-kun. You did say that you trust me with your life, ne? Then, that means I trust you with my life too.”

“Thanks,” Syaoran smiled. “I don’t think it’s the bear itself that meant so much to you.”

“No?” Sakura blinked in a startle as Syaoran continued.

“It’s because someone very special to you must have given you the Chiirou bear, isn’t it?”

 _Oh my… how on earth could Li-kun guess that?!_ Sakura gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. “Y-you figured out… yes, someone did give this to me.”

"This person must be very special to you for you to hang on to that bear so long."

Sakura nodded. "Yes... he is. He made this bear by himself."

 _He?_ That elevated pride that he felt inside him somehow deflated into sadness.  _She must be in love with this person... what the hell were you thinking, Xiaolang? Of course she wouldn't be a fan, because she already has a boyfriend of her own!_

“I can tell just by looking at it. It’s handmade.” Syaoran responded. Then, he moved closer to her. “I was wondering… may I hold… Chiirou bear?”

“Sure. Chiirou wouldn’t mind. Here.” Sakura handed the bear to Syaoran. Once he got a hold of the bear, two bolts of pain struck his mind and his heart all at once when he began to gaze and examine the bear in his hands.

“Sakura…” Slowly, Syaoran placed one hand on to his heart. “I…”

“What’s wrong, Li-kun?”

“Somehow… I don’t know what it is, Sakura…” Right then, he cradled the bear in to his arms, then gave a soft sigh. “Your bear seems… seems familiar to me…”

“Familiar…?”

“Familiar as in… I’ve seen and… touched... and I've held... this stuffed bear before…”

“But Chiirou is its own kind in the world. The one who gave me sown this by hand all by himself.”

“I… I seem to recall… something…”

Sakura gasped and then scooted herself closer to him. “Are you remembering a lost memory now, Li-kun?”

“I… I’m not sure… but… somehow… I can feel a bit of pain inside… and I don’t know why…”

The girl then swallowed nervously and thought about the dream she had last night about Li Xiaolang and her beloved Syaoran being one in the same person. Still though, it would be rude to ask him directly at this point, but rather than being curious for her own selfish gain, she decided to be a true friend.

“Do you want to hang on to Chiirou bear for now?” Sakura asked, smiling.

“Eh? But he’s yours, ne?”

“You seem to have grown fond of Chiirou, Li-kun… as if… the two of you have known each other for a very long time now.”

Syaoran gave a chuckle. “You could be right. You may never know.” He handed Chiirou back to Sakura. Right then, he sat on the carpeted floor, resting against the windowsill, while Sakura joined him, sitting right next to him.

“Listen, Sakura,” Syaoran changed the tone. “There’s nothing wrong with a girl still clinging on to her favorite stuffed toy. I… I think it’s really… adorable…” Right then, he found himself blushing at the thought, especially if the girl just happened to be the one with eyes of his favorite color.

“I guess it all depends on the person, ne?”

“Maybe. But it tells me a lot of things about the person, Sakura.”

“How so?”

“Like, you’re the type of person who cares deeply about everything and everyone who deserves the care in the world. Even if they’re non-living objects, you still care for them for deeper reasons.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s take you and Chiirou, for example. You love Chiirou so much, not because it’s beautifully made and that the fabric is made of the very rare and expensive vicuna wool…”

_How on earth did he figure out the material Chiirou is being made of? Mine was only made with a simple and cheap wool…_

“You love Chiirou because of the person who gave him to you. Now that the person has gone away, you see Chiirou as a living thing rather than just a mere stuffed toy. Not a lot of people have a lot of care to give to just random people and things as much as you, Sakura. That’s what makes you likable.”

 _If what he was saying is true, then does that mean… Li Xiaolang is interested in me…?_ Sakura wanted to draw that conclusion within her, but instead, closed her eyes and shook her head. _No way. That’s a stupid reason. He would never use that as a reason…_

“You could be right, Li-kun,” Sakura nodded. “I never really looked at it that way.”

“You’ll see one day,” Syaoran gave a grin. Once again, he changed the tone once more.

“By the way, I really like your PJs tonight.”

“Eh? This old thing?” She gazed at her mint green with pink cherry blossom on her left side and shrugged. “Thanks, I guess. Tomoyo made this for me and gave it to me for my fifteenth birthday two years ago.”

“It matches with your eyes, but it’s very soft and subtle…”

“Eheheh…” Sakura chuckled nervously. “Thank you, I guess. Tomoyo thinks the same too.”  _Dear God, this is Li Xiaolang we're talking about here... is he... is he flirting with me?_

“You should smile more often, Sakura. When you do, your eyes sparkle.”

“Sparkle?” Sakura felt intense blushing on her face once again.  _Li Xiaolang, one of Japan's hottest teen idols of today, is flirting with a nobody like me..._

“And when eyes sparkle, they make others who look at your eyes smile too.”

_Chiharu's favorite idol, Li Xiaolang, is flirting with me..._

Without even thinking twice, she let out a smile on her face. With that, Syaoran burst in to laughter.

“What? You said I should smile more often!”

Syaoran refrained from laughing. “No, it’s not that. It’s just that… I’ve never met anyone who’s made me laugh several times before. The only one who was able to accomplish that was Eriol.” He then caught up with his composure and cleared his throat.

“Thank you… Sakura.”

“Um, no problem!” She remained smiling. At this time, it was her turn to change the tone. “Ne, Li-kun…”

“Hm?”

“I thought you would be heading straight to bed tonight when you got back at Taka’s house. What made you decide to come here?”

Syaoran at first fell silent and began to contemplate. Sakura became patient enough to wait for an answer. Moments later, he finally gave her his answer.

“Because I like being with you."

_Hoe... dear God... help me, God, please... please don't make me forget about Syaoran, because I can feel that my heart is making its way to lead Li Xiaolang to my heart right now... please..._

"Aww, Li-kun, I'm flattered." Sakura gave a nervous smile. Deep inside, she wanted to leap and scream for joy. Take that, Wolfpup fangirls!

"We didn’t get to hang out as much earlier today because of the press conference and the fanclub luncheons and all of that… and now even the run-through of the script.”

“Silly Li-kun…” She then raised her knee and rolled herself in to a ball, but with her back still remaining straight. “Well… I’m not as cool as your other idol friends and… not as pretty and popular as Tomoyo or Meiling Li or those Beauty Belles or… even Mai Hirashiki herself…”

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to point out here, Sakura?”

Suddenly she gasped in nerviness and immediately blurted out: “Nothing! Nothing… at all…” Even with that safe answer, she knew she was a failure.

 _Okay... maybe he was just teasing me... never mind about him flirting with me..._ She led out a sigh, dropping her head.

“You know, I have to admit something though…” Syaoran sighed and now he rolled himself with his arms on his knees and his chin resting on top of his arms.

“Hoe? What’s that?”

“Well, how do I say this. When I was growing up, my parents really raised me to be highly disciplined… highly responsible… and how to set the real priorities in life. It was to prepare to carry on a long-time legacy that all the males of my family have been carrying for who knows how long. Because of that intense training, I thought that I didn’t need any friends. Those who wish to serve under me, maybe, but not… friends… No matter if they were in the same level as I was, higher, or lower… I just didn’t need anyone…”

“Mm,” Sakura nodded to confirm her understanding. “And then… something changed all that… right?”

“Yes,” he nodded. She listened promptly as he was about to talk more of himself.

“When I was really young, I met someone my age… a girl. She was a little shorter and obviously weaker-looking than I was, but… she opened her hand… and her heart to me. The first thing she said was how cool I was whenever I train in martial arts. She admitted that she always watched me from the darkness whenever she’d pass by the open fields. It didn’t take her long enough to have the guts to speak to me. My father was still a very strong and very tight-lipped man back then, but to my surprise, he welcomed her and then even reminded her that she can come and watch us whenever she had the time. The more she was present, the more I found myself warming up to her… and eventually, I ended up getting enrolled in the elementary school that she was attending so I can get closer to her and meet new friends.”

 _Oh... he has a love of his own... this girl..._ Once again, she felt her heart shattering in her pieces. Maybe that time earlier was just a little fling. What on earth was she thinking?

“You never went to school when you were little?”

“No, not that. I was privately tutored at home. Just like the rest of the family. My four sisters, they were privately tutored too when they were little. I was the first one to actually attend an elementary school. My sisters were then enrolled in the local middle school after I started going to a public school. We still get supplemental lessons at home to help us study for exams and all that but all of us really enjoyed school, so my parents let us to continue our education in schools instead. My sisters made so many friends and almost all the kids in my school wanted me to be their friend… but I only made two right after the girl— another boy and another girl. Even if I wasn’t that sociable I did get along with all of my classmates, but when it came to friendship, those three I made were more than enough for me.”

“Wow… this girl must be very special to you. I’m sure she is…”

“Sadly, she and the three friends that I made before were part of these lost memories that my family and I have been trying to recover so I can be my whole self once again. That’s the reason why my parents allowed me to continue my budding acting career in Japan. In fact, they did insist that I continue it here than in Hong Kong.”

“I see. So you can find your long lost friends… and vice versa… and finally recover those lost memories that would make you feel whole again…” Syaoran nodded to confirm she was correct. “So, how is it so far?”

“Well… I’m not sure yet, not completely sure about this, but…” He dropped his head and sighed. “When I started working here in Japan, I haven’t really recovered much of my most important memories. Sure, I now realized that I have lived in Japan before some time in the past, but that was it so far.”

“Oh… that’s too bad.”

“Wait, let me finish first,” Syaoran gave a soft chuckle. “When we first arrived here in Tomoeda… that’s when weird things started to happen to me…”

“Really? But Tomoeda is just a simple town. Sure, we may have our own local quirks here and there, but other than that, nothing really special.”

“I know, but… I’ve been getting all these auras of familiarity. I mean, Tomoeda is certainly a different town from all other places I’ve been to around Japan, but all of the things only available to Tomoeda… it’s like I already knew about them or experienced them right from the start. And then of course, there’s that thing about my family having a copy of The Book of Keroberos…”

“Well, now that we established that you were once a Tomoeda resident, then maybe it’s easier for us to finally help you recover your final missing memories, Li-kun. Like, we can find personal records about you in the town archives in the library and… well, I can ask Dad to help you out. He’s one of Tomoeda’s finest historians. I mean he is an archaeologist and a professor of anything historical, ne?”

Syaoran nodded with a grin. “I’d like that, Sakura. Thank you.”

“Oh!” Sakura gasped. “That reminds me. I asked my dad if I can invite someone for dinner one of these days and then we can have Whisperjay Stew for dinner and he was okay with it. I… I thought about… inviting you for dinner.” She began twiddling her thumbs shyly.

“You’re inviting me for dinner? With your family?” Sakura nodded.

“It doesn’t have to be tomorrow night or anything like that. I mean… while you’re here… I’d like to have a nice family dinner with you. Well you can bring a guest or two too if you want, but… as long as you’re there.”

Syaoran nodded in response. “I’d like that, Sakura. I’m honored.”

“Yay!” Sakura cheered happily.

“My schedule’s all weird everyday since it’s the movie shoot and all. I’d have early morning shoots, late night shoots, you know, it’s crazy. But I’ll be sure to reserve a night for dinner. I’ll let you know when that would be.”

“Great! Can’t wait!”

Just as they were about to continue with their late night hangout, they were both startled with a knock on her door. “Sakura? Are you still awake?”

“Oh no! It’s Dad!” Sakura exclaimed. She dashed to her closet, where there was still enough room for a person to hide. “Quick, hide in here!”

Syaoran gave a slight chuckle and then hid inside her closet. Once he did, she ran to her door and opened it.

“Um… hi Dad…”

“Still up, I see? Well, it is summer break after all.”

“Y-yeah!” Sakura giggled nervously. “I… I was just watching TV…”

“Watching TV? Where? You don’t have a TV set in your room—”

“I mean… on the new cool smartphone you gave me earlier today. I wanna test its fast connectivity and see if I can watch TV shows on it.”

Fujitaka chuckled. “Oh, kids these days. Alright now, little munchkin. Time for you to head to bed. You still got that audition for extras for that movie tomorrow morning with your friends.”

Sakura leaned to kiss her father on the cheek. “I know, Dad. Thanks for the reminder.”

“Alright then. Go to sleep now. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Dad.” Fujitaka continued on to his room as Sakura closed the door. She then gave out a sigh of relief. “You can come out now, Li-kun!”

Slowly, the closet door opens and Syaoran crawled out from the closet. “Wow, what a scare…”

“Yeah. I can’t believe Dad would even stop by… normally he doesn’t do that… maybe he must have seen my lights still open.”

“Your father seems like a kind and sincere man.” Syaoran then sat back at the windowsill area while Sakura joined him.

“He is. He’s very hardworking. Ever since my mother died, he has been playing both father and mother all at the same time. He does a lot of work in the university, always goes on these expedition trips and digs around the world, but when he’s at home he does almost everything mothers would normally do. He would clean the house, cook our meals, work on the garden, he’s just a jack-of-all-trades kind of man. We do whatever we can to help out with the chores around the house, of course. Now I do most of the household chores because Oniichan is a grad student and works various part-time jobs to pay for his college fees and of course, contribute a bit to the family. The only part-time job I have is being a member of the Cool Rascals band with Tomoyo being the boss.”

“Ah. My condolences,” Syaoran sighed. “I don’t know how it feels like to lose a parent forever, but I do know how it feels like to lose a parent who’s unable to do anything for the family anymore…”

“Li-kun…”

“My father is still running the family business even though he’s almost completely paralyzed. It’s still a miracle that he’s still able to speak and move his arms, so my mother does the majority of the tasks that a president and CEO would do in a huge corporation. But very soon he won’t be able to do many things as he used to and that he plans to go on full-time therapy. He’ll be retiring as president and CEO of the corporation very soon, so… that’s why I stated to the press conference earlier that I’ll be going on hiatus with my career and focus more on college and of course, start working for the family business.”

Sakura nodded. “Times sure are really difficult nowadays.”

“Yeah, you said it.”

“Well, I’ll work really hard too for my family, just like you would with your family. But… but I don’t know what to do yet, you know? I mean, both of us will be graduating high school next spring. At least you already know what to do after high school… or rather you’re already working full time in showbiz while still attending school.”

“You’ll find something, Sakura. That’s what college is for. If you can’t decide today you can still decide while you’re in college.”

“You’re right, Li-kun. I should start thinking about my future really soon.”

“You can do it, Sakura.”

“Thanks, Li-kun.”

Immediately, they hear vibration sounds obviously coming from a cellphone. Sakura checked hers and noticed that it wasn’t her phone that was vibrating. She turned her head to see Syaoran already checking his phone.

“I better head back,” Syaoran said, giving a slight smirk. “My mother texted me just now. She’ll be calling me long distance tomorrow morning. I better sleep early then.”

“Sorry I kept you way too long in my room,” Sakura laughed.

“No way,” Syaoran returned the laughter. “I like being here in your room, even if it’s just the window sill. It’s better than _hanging out_ in the tree for a long time like this morning.” He winked right at her with the reminiscing of the hilarious incident at the tree this morning.

“Very funny, Li-kun!” Right then, Syaoran wore his shoes back and then began to climb over the window.

“Oh, by the way. I overheard from your dad earlier that you plan to audition as extras in the movie?”

“Well, me and Tomoyo and Taka and even Chiharu and Rika,” Sakura nodded.

Right then, Syaoran’s expression changed. “Don’t.”

“Hm? No?” Sakura blinked curiously. "Why not?

“Well, maybe Mihara and Sasaki can audition for extras, but… not you and Daidouji and Yamazaki.”

“But… but why?” Sakura gave a sad expression.

“It’s because… Eriol, Meiling, and I have something a whole lot cooler for you guys than just being extras. Eriol will be informing Yamazaki, Meiling will be informing Daidouji about it. Just wake up early as you planned, but instead of you guys going at the auditions, just come over next door.”

“Next door, huh,” Sakura gave a slight smirk. “Hm… okay then.”

“Great.” Syaoran reached for the sturdiest branch nearby and clung on to it tightly. “See you in the morning, Sakura. Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, Li-kun!” Sakura waved.

“Xiaolang.”

“Eh?” Sakura gave a baffled look.

“That’s rather unfair that you’re calling Meiling and Eriol by first names now but you still call me by my last name?”

“Well… it’s just that… I heard that you’re very strict when it comes to formalities and all and… well… I don’t know how you would react if…”

“Please, Sakura…”

Sakura took a deep breath. “Well… okay then.” She grinned and nodded. “Goodnight, Xiaolang.” Once again, her heart began to leap rapidly as if she was running a marathon.

_I'm... I'm calling Li Xiaolang by his first name... oh God, what on earth have I done to deserve this?_

“Goodnight, Sakura.” He gave a short salute and crawled back across the tree to his open window. Once he got inside his window, she closed her window and her curtain.

“Time for bed, Chiirou,” Sakura said to her stuffed toy as she began tucking herself in her bed. “Tomorrow is another day.”

As she closed her eyes, unconsciously, she began to murmur his name.

_Xiaolang... Xiaolang..._

Meanwhile in Syaoran’s room in the Yamazaki Residence, he found realizations within him right after he left Sakura’s bedroom. He dropped himself on bed, placing his arms behind his head. He then closed his eyes.

_Dang it… I forgot to tell her about my pink stuffed animal, Ying Fa… and what’s up with that friend of hers who gave her that Chiirou stuffed animal. Hm, come to think of it, the last name of my character in the movie has the same name as her stuffed animal… plus ‘Chiirou’ is also written the same way as I write my first name. Man, this is just so weird…_

Right then, he head a knock on his door. “It’s open.”

The door opened and Eriol entered, now in his dark blue PJs. “You still haven’t changed yet, Xiao.”

“I… stopped by next door for a bit… to say goodnight…”

“My my, how bold are we now, dear lad,” Eriol snickered and sat down on the chair at his desk. “You really like this Kinomoto girl, don’t you?”

Syaoran quickly shifted himself to his side, staring at his cousin with denial in his eyes. “S-so… so what if I do…?”

“You do know the consequences if you do end up courting and romancing the sweet town lass now, don’t you, Xiao? Ah, she is quite something. Small town girl with innocent views of the world... but at the same time, she yearns for her Prince Charming to sweep off her feet... I wonder if that Prince Charming might be you, hmm?”

“I don’t care about what they say about it. It’s not like making a buzz about my breakup with Meiling affected both of us in the first place.”

“It’s easy with Meiling, Xiao. She’s a star like you and me. But how would the media react if the great and gorgeously hot Li Xiaolang started dating a small town girl that no one really knows and cares about?”

“Hey, I never said that I plan to date her, Eriol. Please hold your tongue.” Regardless of the words he spat, he knew deep within that he was lying to himself. Yes, he wants to see her again. She was just across from his window after all. But he didn't just want to see her. He wants to be near her, right next to her, a lot closer than just standing next to her. He would keep her all to himself, holding her hand, not letting go of her hand, maybe even holding her in his arms, and then...

“Maybe not today, but eventually,” Eriol responded.

“It’s not like I plan to continue being an idol and an actor for the rest of my life, you know. I have a higher, more important obligation that I have to fulfill in the near future. You and I both know that.”

_No, not really. Dammit, I don't care if she's got that stuffed animal Chiirou friend... I'll have to find a way for her to get over him... and then get her to go out with me..._

Eriol snickered with a nod. “That’s what I want to hear, Xiao. You still haven’t lost your focus on your goals.”

“My hiatus from showbiz would make things a whole lot easier for me. My entire family would be happy when that happens. Obviously, my parents really want me to recover all my lost memories by sending me out here to Japan and then convincing me to take the lead role in this movie once they found out that the setting is here in Tomoeda. The Book of Keroberos… the pink teddy bear in my possession… isn’t it obvious that I’ve lived in this town for probably half of my life, Eriol?”

“Of course, Cousin,” Eriol nodded. “And you know Meiling and I will support you and your goals, Xiao.”

“Thank you, Eriol. That means a lot to me.”

His cousin approached him and then patted him on the shoulder. “Get some sleep, Cousin. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

“Right on. Night, Eriol.”

“Sleep tight, Xiao.” Eriol exited his room as Syaoran began to dig for his sleep wear and headed out to the restroom.

Moments later, he returned to his bedroom, and before he made his way to bed, he reached for the window again. He gazed through the window across from his, despite being covered by the cherry blossoms, to see her lights already off. He found himself smiling like he never smiled in his entire life.

_Goodnight, Sakura... my sweet Ying Fa..._

Before he knew it, he blinked and shook his head.  _Wait, what am I saying? Dammit Xiaolang, you must be really tired..._

He made his way to his bed and began to tuck himself in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we've got our press conference and performance scene! What's in store for our heroes and sidekicks for tomorrow? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
> 
> Just a couple of notes here. First, I got the name “Holly Olive Valley” from Eriol's last name, Hiiragizawa (hiiragi (柊) = holly olive + zawa (沢) = valley) for his family business back in England.
> 
>  _Todai_ is the nickname/short form of the University of Tokyo (Tokyo Daigoku), Japan's most prestigious university. It is Japan's equivalent to those elite universities such as Harvard University and University of Oxford. We all know Naoko as a lover of books and a writer of mystery, sci-fi, and horror in the original series, so I also wrote her as a very serious, goal-oriented writer/journalist girl in this story.
> 
> Since this is an AU fic, I'm not following the time frame from the original CCS storyline. As you know, the manga was released in the 90s and the anime was premiered in the late 90s. In this year 2013 (2016 as of posting this fanfic at A3O), Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and other elementary school-aged characters would be in their late 20s to early 30s now (30-years-old in 2016). Because this is an AU fic and they're 17 to 18 in this story, I'm just following the present time. I'm in my 30s myself so I pretty know how life was like back when they were still kids, but I'm not going to do some deep reminiscing just to fit the lifestyle with the timeline.
> 
> That's it for now! - Adri Mars

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Adri Mars here, and I recently got this brand-new account here at A3O. This is a reposting of my "grand" Cardcaptor Sakura rom-com fanfic, "Stuffed Animal" from FanfictionNET. I am currently writing its sequel on FFnet called "Troop Pegalion," and will post that here once I post the entire "Stuffed Animal" fanfic. If you have read this on FFnet before, thank you for your follows and support! If you are brand new, I welcome you!
> 
> I have been a fan of CCS since CLAMP released its first manga volume 20 years from this date: May 1996. I sometimes go on and off with my love for CCS, and my absolute favorite couple, Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li, and because this year 2016 is CCS' 20th Anniversary, I believe it's time to get back to the series again.
> 
> This would be my third CCS fanfic. My first two are located in my old account in FFnet (daidoujitomoyo), starting with Study Buddy and Fall Play. I lost my access to this account as the email I used for that account no longer exists and the FFnet Tech Support is unable to help me with this problem, so please, if you have time, be sure to check those out. Those fics (and even this third fic) are over 10 years old, so they're ancients classics I guess LOL.
> 
> Let me explain regarding this third CCS fanfic. I started working on this back in 2001 but because of writer's block and then loss of interest in CCS (I discovered a brand-new interest so that really triggered it), I abandoned it. It was going to be a “musical play script” style of fic, but because I'm re-reading the original documents and it looked really lame, I decided to just bring it back into its standard novel format. I attempted to rewrite Stuffed Animal as my first Kodocha fanfic, however looking back, it's not really working very well, so I decided to discontinue that and then rewrite this back in its original CCS format. This is an AU fic, so forget about the Clow Cards and the Sakura Cards on this one and forget about the scenery being in Japan. Let's just say, it's still Tomoeda, but it's in a different world. Yeah. :)
> 
> I'm not going to go into further detail regarding this story until the next chapter is up, so for now, enjoy this little prologue ditty. It should give you a bit of an idea, somewhat. :)
> 
> Comments, suggestions, feedback are always welcome. Thank you very much!


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